Everlong is a song by the Foo Fighters, released in August 18, 1997 as the second single from their second studio album, The Colour and the Shape (1997). The song reached number three on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart and the Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative chart. It is often regarded as the band’s signature song.
In late 1996, Dave Grohl was lodging at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, recording what was to be the second Foo Fighters album. While playing around with his guitar during downtime between takes of the song “Monkey Wrench” he stumbled on a “Sonic Youth rip off” riff, which he felt had the same vibe as one of that band’s songs, “Schizophrenia” (Sister album). He took a liking to it and decided to develop it into a song, the band jamming on what became the verse. The song had not progressed beyond this rudimentary draft by the end of those sessions.
Shortly thereafter, around Christmas time, Grohl returned to his native Virginia. As he was going through a divorce, he decided to stay at a friend’s house, using a sleeping bag on the floor. It was there that he wrote Everlong as a proper song, in 45 minutes. The lyrics were inspired by Grohl‘s ongoing romance with Louise Post of the band Veruca Salt:
“That song’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonize perfectly”.
Grohl recorded a demo of the song soon after, during a visit to a friend’s studio in nearby Washington, D.C. He describes the demo, on which he played all the instruments, as being essentially the same as the album version, but “super raw”.
Grohl returned to the West Coast to continue work on The Colour and the Shape. He met with producer Gil Norton at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood again, and played the Everlong demo for him. Norton was impressed. Soon, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear joined Grohl and Norton, and the group recorded the song. Grohl wanted Post to provide vocals. She was in Chicago at the time, however, so her parts (doo doo doos alongside the lead guitar riff, and harmonizing on the chorus) were recorded using two separate telephone lines in the studio, one for her monitor, and the other for recording. Grohl recorded his chorus harmonies through the JT40, which provided vocals at a similar level of fidelity as Post‘s. For the breakdown, Grohl recorded three spoken word tracks, one telling a story from assistant engineer Ryan Boesch‘s childhood, of being punished for disturbing his father’s sleep, and two others of Grohl reading random passages from a book. The three tracks were planned to be blended together, but only the first was used in the final mix.
Tracklist:
- Everlong
The surreal, satirical video for Everlong was directed by Michel Gondry. It is, in part, a parody of the film The Evil Dead. The version of the song used in the video is longer than the single and album versions.
The video opens in black and white, with Smear and Mendel, dressed as Teddy Boys, outside of a house in which Grohl and his wife, played by Taylor Hawkins, are asleep. In Grohl‘s dream (in color), he is Sid Vicious at a party, and Hawkins, as Nancy Spungen, is being harassed by Smear and Mendel. In Hawkins‘ dream (also in color), his character is in a cabin reading a book, while Grohl gathers firewood outside. A hand appears from under a trap door in the floor of the cabin. Back in Grohl‘s dream, he attacks Smear and Mendel with his enlarged hand. He defeats them, and they vaporize (only to materialize in Hawkins‘ dream). Grohl and Hawkins escape the party into a room with an enormous telephone, which is ringing loudly. Grohl awakens in their bedroom, where their real phone is ringing. Hawkins, trying to fend off Smear and Mendel in his character’s dream, phones Grohl. Grohl, in their bedroom, answers the phone, and realizes that Hawkins is in distress in Hawkins‘ dream. Unable to wake Hawkins, Grohl returns to sleep in order to enter Hawkins‘ dream and rescue Hawkins. Grohl finds a nunchaku among the logs that he is carrying in Hawkins‘ dream. He enters the cabin, and he and Hawkins overcome Smear and Mendel again. Grohl throws their bodies in a nearby lake. Smear and Mendel are then shown in Grohl and Hawkins‘ bedroom. All of the band members cast off their costumes, and the video ends with them performing the rest of the song as themselves.
Although Hawkins is shown drumming in the video, Grohl was actually the drummer on the song, as Hawkins had not yet joined the band at the time of its recording.
Everlong was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. On May 11, 2021, it passed 200 million views on YouTube.
Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl: lead vocals, guitar, drums
Pat Smear: guitar
Nate Mendel: bass
Louise Post: backing vocals
Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 March 25, 2022).
