"Never Been to Spain" is a song written by Hoyt Axton, originally released on his 1971 LP Joy to the World and later that year performed by Three Dog Night, with Cory Wells on lead vocal. It was featured on their 1971 album Harmony. The recording was produced by Richard Podolor.

Background

The lyrics consist of the narrator ruminating about overseas locales that he has never visited, but about which he feels he has some proxy experience, primarily via the music but also due to other presumed highlights found in those places. He loosely compares his own actual travels to these more worldly spots. In the final verse, he observes that while he has "never been to heaven", he has "been to Oklahoma", where he was told he was born, thus implying a kinship between the two places. Hoyt Axton, who was born in Oklahoma, explained that he originally wrote, "...in Oklahoma, born in a coma...." However, it was considered inappropriate; thus, the lyrics were changed to "not Arizona".

Chart history

In the US, "Never Been to Spain" peaked at number 5 on the Billboard chart, and number 18 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart in 1972. Outside of the US, "Never Been to Spain" reached number 3 in Canada and number 34 in Australia.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions