This song is about the feelings Dave Grohl had after a difficult breakup and the hope he felt while kindling a new romance with Louise Post of Veruca Salt.

The lyrics poignantly describe both the emptiness of yearning for and the joy of having a loving relationship. They also talk about how having someone grounds you and makes you feel part of something bigger than just the people in the relationship. The overall gist is hopeful, and the bit about breathing in what the other person breathes out signifies being supremely close in both spirit and essence. The song just came to Grohl too. He just played a single chord, and it reminded him of the sound of a different band called Sonic Youth, of which he was a fan. This origin story harks back to Sir Arthur Sullivan’s famous song, “The Lost Chord.” Grohl was seated in a sound booth, ill at ease, instead of at the organ, and it’s unknown if he considered the Foo Fighters hit to be a “great Amen,” but unlike Sullivan’s protagonist, Grohl actually remembered the chord and built it into “Everlong.”

“One-Man Band”

Grohl, building on his feelings regarding his new love, created a demo of the song. He played all the instruments and sang his track all by himself. “Back in the day,” the only way to do vocal tracks remotely was over the phone, so Grohl called Post a time zone away for her to sing her contribution to the demo. Grohl’s vision for the song was as a rock number, and that’s how the demo went. The group recorded the studio version of the song that way too. But, when Grohl appeared on The Howard Stern Show, he did the song with just an acoustic guitar. Grohl says that it gave the song new life and made into something else that he unconsciously wanted it to be all along. He just needed it to come out acoustically to realize that that was the best way to play the song.

Other Media

The song has featured in films and television programs ever since it came out. Some of the most notable television examples include “Roswell,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “Friends.” As far as films are concerned, “Little Nicky,” “Guitar Hero World Tour,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” are three prime examples.

Lyrics

Hello
I’ve waited here for you
Everlong

Tonight, I throw myself into
And out of the red
Out of her head, she sang

Come down and waste away with me
Down with me
Slow, how you wanted it to be
I’m over my head
Out of her head, she sang

And I wonder
When I sing along with you

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

Breathe out
So I can breathe you in
Hold you in
And now
I know you’ve always been
Out of your head
Out of my head, I sang

And I wonder
When I sing along with you

If everything could ever feel 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

And I wonder

If everything could ever feel 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

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David Eric Grohl

Everlong lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Listeners of Rock music, might also appreciate the song Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond