Everlong: An Analysis (Week 2 of Musical Analysis)

When I was young, probably around 3 or 4 years old, my dad would buckle me into my car seat and take me with him while he ran errands. I remember the way my fingers smudged the window and the way the buckle pressed gently into my skin. I remember the ice cream cone in a cup from McDonald's that I would eat with a spoon. Most importantly, I remember his slight and very temporary obsession with Foo Fighters. Now, 15 years later, I listen to "Everlong" by Foo Fighters and relive those memories.

"Everlong", which can be listened to here, was released in 1997 as a single off of Foo Fighters' second album, The Colour and The Shape. It consists of heavy guitar and drums backing the lead vocalist, Dave Grohl. 

Lyrics and Vocals

The lyrics in "Everlong" describe someone who has loved another since the dawn of time, and who will continue to love them until the end of time. It is about loving someone so deeply that you are basically connected, and nothing could break you. At the time Grohl was writing "Everlong", he was getting out of his long-dissolving marriage and finding that there was another that he loved more deeply than he thought he was capable of, so those emotions can be found in this song. Here is the first two verses and chorus: 

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

The vocals in this song are rich and melodic. The sound of Grohl's voice is metallic and flows very well with the accompaniment. 

Dynamics

In "Everlong", there is a slow intro that is instrumental (mostly guitar), and it is in this intro one can hear very clearly the slow crescendo of the guitar. It starts off so quiet it is almost impossible to hear, and then it unfolds into a flurry of guitar, drums, and bass. This is replicated in the bridge of the song, when the audio goes quiet, and the only thing that can be heard is very quiet guitar (although there are some vocal elements, almost like whispers, that are heard during the bridge).

Rhythm

"Everlong" follows a time signature of 4/4 for the majority of the song, although there are some bars that follow more closely to 2/4. The song is written and performed in the key of D major.

Articulation

One of the components that makes "Everlong" so interesting to listen to is the way both the vocals and the accompaniment flow from one note to the next. For the most part, this song is very choppy- that is to say, it is obvious to see when the notes change. There are, however, some sections of the song (especially during the chorus) in which this difference is not as noticeable, as the notes almost swing from one to the next. 

Note: this is not an uncommon component. I can think of dozens of songs with interesting articulation. I just thought the articulation in "Everlong" was particularly interesting, so I chose to highlight it here.

Texture

"Everlong" is a monophonic song, meaning that there is a dominating melody with an accompanying group of background instrumentalists. The melody is not constant, as there are multiple guitar solos (though most of them are only a few counts long), but "Everlong" still remains monophonic.

Sources:

Songfacts. "Everlong by Foo Fighters - Songfacts." Everlong. Song Meanings at Songfacts. Web. 12 June 2021.