"They Won't Go When I Go" is a song co-written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1974 album Fulfillingness' First Finale.
This song is the only one on the album that Wonder did not write by himself. His co-writer was Yvonne Lowrene Wright, who co-wrote songs with Wonder for other albums.[1] Wright's sister, Syreeta Wright, was Wonder's first wife.
Wonder performed this song, along with "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer", at Michael Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009.
The song has been considered a "retro composition" comparing the piano to that of Beethoven and Chopin. The song is also noted to have a "funeral march" like tone.[2] There is clear alliusion to the 1850 German chorale tune "O mein Jesu," the setting of Thomas Kelly's 1805 Protestant hymn "Stricken, smitten, and afflicted." Critics noted that the song takes a more dramatic tone than most of Wonder's other compositions. The fact that the song specifically says "They won't go when I go" was said to imply the friends Wonder is talking about may get to heaven eventually, just not before he does.[3] Many consider this song to be a dark consequence of Stevie's 1973 car accident. The harmonic progression is very similar to Chopin's Etude Opus 10 number 4, measures 5 and 6, although at a much slower pace.
George Michael covered the song for his second solo album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 in 1990.[4]
Camille recorded it for her second studio album, I Sing Stevie: The Stevie Wonder Songbook in 2014, which received an Independent Music Award nomination for Best Tribute Album.[5]
Chance the Rapper did a cover of it as part of a surprise NPR Tiny Desk Concert in early June 2017.