“Everlong” by Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl wrote this song during what can most simply be described as a messed up era in his personal life. His marriage to his first wife, a lady by the name of Jennifer Youngblood, had officially dissolved. 

And even though the Foo Fighters already had one album under their belt, apparently it wasn’t successful enough to free Dave from economic hardship, such as homelessness (as a result of the divorce). 

But in the very least he had a new love in his life, a fellow musician by the name of Louise Post. And it was his feelings for her which inspired “Everlong”.

So basically it’s as if when this song was written, Dave was convinced that Louise was more along the lines of his soulmate than Jennifer. And that is why during the early goings, the vocalist is able to proclaim that he’s been waiting for the addressee “everlong”. 

That is to put forth the idea that she’s the manifestation of what he spent his life envisioning as the perfect lover. As such, most of the remaining lyrics are fundamentally based on the notion of this romance being one in which the two parties involved are truly bonded.

Takeaway

The above noted, perhaps the most interesting part of this piece, as in the only segment that kinda deviates from the traditional love song formula, is the chorus. It is therein where the vocalist, in a roundabout way, implies that he had given up on romance. Well, that is until he fell head over heels for the addressee. 

And he also seems to acknowledge his own shortcomings when it comes to being a lover. So in that regard, on top of expressing his overall love, Dave is seemingly asking Louise not to become discouraged once he inevitably does something detrimental to their romance.

“If everything could ever be this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I’ll ever ask of you
You’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when
She sang”

When was “Everlong” released?

This song dates back to “The Colour and the Shape”, i.e. the Foo Fighters’ second album. It is also the second single from the project and was made public as such, by Roswell Records and Capitol Records, on 18 August 1997.

Credits and Music Video

Everlong was written exclusively by Dave Grohl, with its producer being a semi-regular Foo Fighters’ collaborator named Gil Norton.

The music video to this track, as assembled by director Michel Gondry, featured the late Taylor Hawkins (1972-2022) playing the drums. However, for the record, on the actual track Grohl served as both vocalist and drummer. That’s because for the most part the band was in the process of transitioning from its original drummer, William Goldsmith. Goldsmith actually quit Foo Fighters while they were in the midst of recording “The Colour and the Shape”.

Said music video, which parodies the classic zombie flick “The Evil Dead” (1981), got nominated for an MTV VMA in 1998 and has even been deemed by some as “the best ever made”.

Success of “Everlong”

“Everlong” proved to be one of the Foo Fighters’ biggest hits. This song has thus far achieved double-platinum status in the US and Mexico, in addition to going platinum in the UK and Italy. 

Moreover, it made it onto the top 10 of a couple of US Billboard charts (Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock) and the UK Rock & Metal Chart.

This is on top of breaking the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart proper. Moreover, this song re-charted in 2015 and 2021. And beyond that, it has also been named one of the ‘the Greatest Rock Songs’ by the likes of Rolling Stone, The Guardian, NME, VH1, etc. Rolling Stone even went on to place it on its updated “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list in 2021.

As such, this song has also gone on to be featured on a few of the Foo Fighters’ live and compilation projects. For example, it serves as a regular part of the band’s setlists (with the live renditions adding to the tune’s popularity). 

More Interesting Facts about “Everlong”!

To note “Everlong” was also featured, in instrumental form, on a 2001 episode of Friends, “The One with Monica & Chandler’s Wedding, Part 2”.

Other pop media in which this song has been utilized, in one form or another, include the following: soap opera “All My Children” (1998), the Adam Sandler film “Little Nicky” (2000) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013).

“Everlong” has also proven to be the personal favorite of David Letterman – so much so that it resulted in the Foo Fighters playing a very special role on his popular late-night talk show.

The aforementioned Louise Post also acts as a backup vocalist on this track.

“Everlong” holds the distinction of being the last song Taylor Hawkins (1972-2022) performed live. And this occurred while Foo Fighters were rocking the house at Lollapalooza Argentina on 20 March 2022.