{"id":695660,"date":"2026-05-26T12:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/695660\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:32:11","slug":"every-time-i-sing-if-everything-could-feel-this-real-forever-and-everyone-else-is-singing-it-in-time-thats-pretty-powerful-how-dave-gr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/695660\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cEvery time I sing \u2018If everything could feel this real forever\u2019 \u2013 and everyone else is singing it in time \u2013 that\u2019s pretty powerful\u201d: How Dave Grohl created the cathartic rock anthem that became the Foo Fighters\u2019 signature song"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recording of the Foo Fighters<\/a>\u2019 second album The Colour And The Shape nearly saw the end of the band \u2013 with frontman Dave Grohl<\/a> scrapping a whole album\u2019s worth of material and disagreements causing their drummer to quit.<\/p>\n

But an inspired late-night solo songwriting session produced a moment of genius that pushed the band to create their greatest album.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The song that saved Grohl\u2019s masterpiece from imploding was Everlong.<\/p>\n

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It was Grohl alone who created the first, self-titled Foo Fighters album in 1995 in the aftermath of former Nirvana<\/a> bandmate Kurt Cobain<\/a>\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

After a hugely positive reaction to that debut, the Foo Fighters \u2013 at this time comprising of Grohl, ex-Nirvana\/Germs guitarist Pat Smear and ex-Sunny Day Real Estate rhythm section Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith \u2013 sought to record a bigger, bolder follow-up as a full-band.<\/p>\n

Desiring a less DIY, more mainstream rock sound, the band enlisted producer Gil Norton \u2013 famed for his work on the Pixies\u2019 Doolittle \u2013 to oversee the recording of their second album in late 1996. But after setting up camp in Bear Creek Studios in Washington state, the resulting sessions were far from enjoyable for the group, all of whom were relatively inexperienced in a professional studio.<\/p>\n

In his autobiography The Storyteller, Grohl wrote: \u201cGil was a notorious taskmaster, and his meticulous attention to detail ultimately paid off, but not before breaking our spirit after 30 or 40 takes of each song.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Whilst the band were mentally strained from being overworked, tensions were further raised for Grohl after he was served with divorce papers at the studio from his wife Jennifer Youngblood. After a month of stress, things came to a head when Grohl and Norton became dissatisfied with Goldsmith\u2019s drumming.<\/p>\n

\u201cGil called Nate and I the rhythmless section, so that was encouraging,\u201d Goldsmith recalled in Foos documentary Back and Forth. \u201cConstantly, there was this feeling that, whatever song we were working on, Dave had a drum part for it already in his head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frustrated, Goldsmith felt that his contributions could never live up to Grohl\u2019s impossible standards.<\/p>\n

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In the same film, Grohl claims: \u201cWhen I\u2019ve written a song, I have kind of a clear idea of where the basic root accents should lie\u2026 which is a fancy way of saying I know what the drums should sound like in my head as I\u2019m [playing guitar]. If I listen to a song, and I don\u2019t think it has the thing that it needs, it\u2019s not necessarily gonna get past me and get on an album.\u201d<\/p>\n

In need of a break, the band took the Christmas period off, and a jaded Grohl, homeless after splitting from Youngblood, returned to his home state of Virginia to his mother\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

Listening back to their work so far, Grohl was disappointed that the group could not reach his high expectations. He recalls: \u201cI [had] a conversation with Pat, saying, \u2018It has to be better than this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Whilst in Virginia, alone, Grohl channelled his frustration into something positive, and wrote two new compositions that would help him refocus and finish the album \u2013 the pensive Walking After You the cathartic Everlong.<\/p>\n

Foo Fighters – Walking After You (Official HD Video) – YouTube
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\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a surprise to me when Dave came back from Virginia with two good new songs,\u201d Norton states in Paul Brannigan\u2019s Grohl biography This Is A Call. \u201cDave never stops, he\u2019s constantly trying to better the work that he\u2019s got. But when I heard Everlong, I was like \u2018Oh\u2026\u2019 It made the album whole. It was the catalyst that held everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song\u2019s inception began with its instantly recognisable intro riff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember coming up with the riff while recording [lead single] Monkey Wrench,\u201d Grohl told NME. \u201cThe song is in drop D tuning, and in between takes I was fooling around and I found that chord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning with a Dmaj7 chord with the open bottom D string pedal note, the all-downstroke strumming moves to a Bsus2 shape, which then slides down to Gsus2 and back to Bsus2, before the other instruments join in.<\/p>\n

Grohl initially dismissed the riff as being too similar to Sonic Youth\u2019s Schizophrenia, but decided to stick with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really put it together until we were on [our] Christmas break,\u201d he said. \u201cI demoed it all by myself. It [was] the same song, but just super raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Committed to seeing the album through, Grohl ultimately made the decision to re-record it in full, with sessions moving to Grandmaster studios in LA, and Grohl stepping behind the kit to play the drum parts himself.<\/p>\n

Taylor Hawkins, the band\u2019s long-serving drummer who would replace Goldsmith on the following tour, said: \u201c[Grohl] didn\u2019t fire [Goldsmith], he just said, \u2018Dude, you\u2019re not ready to make a record yet, and this record\u2019s make or break [for us].\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But for Goldsmith, the removal of his drum parts cut deep.<\/p>\n

He recalled: \u201cDave said, \u2018You know, I still want you to tour the record\u2019, and I was like, \u2018As it is now, I need to re-build my soul, re-find it\u2026 So thanks but no thanks.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldsmith left the band for good before the album was finished.<\/p>\n

Emboldened by this decision and sticking with his creative vision, Grohl delivered an inspired performance behind the kit across 11 of the album\u2019s 13 songs.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Produce Like a Pro YouTube channel, engineer Bradley Cook said of Grohl: \u201cHe was rusty for about two takes, and then just so good after that. He hadn\u2019t played for a long time, and then he was just on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to his guitar parts Grohl \u2013 a die-hard Gibson lover \u2013 played the song on his RD Standard through a Fender Tone Master head and a Mesa\/Boogie 4×12 cab. Smear, meanwhile, opted for his trusty Hagstrom HiiN, with a Mesa Boogie Studio .22 preamp and a Crest 4801 power amp that mirrored Kurt Cobain\u2019s In Utero touring rig.<\/p>\n

Pat Smear also played through a Marshall<\/a> cab, but kept blowing the speakers \u2013 a happy accident, believes Cook: \u201cIt sounded really good, so we kept putting new speakers in and kept blowing them. Pat\u2019s sound is a real punky, middley sound complimentary to [Dave\u2019s] Boogie [amp].\u201d<\/p>\n

On the pedal front, the guitarists made use of a ProCo Turbo Rat, a ProCo Rat 2, a Kay Fuzz, a Jordan BossTone fuzz and more across the album\u2019s sessions.<\/p>\n

The lyrics to Everlong were inspired after Grohl began a brief romance with Louise Post of alt-rock band Veruca Salt. As Grohl told Kerrang!: \u201cIt\u2019s about a girl that I\u2019d 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 harmonise perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fascinatingly, whilst the band were in California, Post recorded backing vocals for the track from Chicago. Singing along as the song played through her landline phone speaker, Norton and Cook mic\u2019d up the speaker of their studio phone \u2013 a long-distance contribution that perfectly aligned with the song\u2019s yearning lyrics.<\/p>\n

Foo Fighters – Everlong – YouTube
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With the album complete, the band had weathered a storm that had seen them lose their drummer, and would ultimately lead to Smear\u2019s departure nine months later due to exhaustion. Grohl, however, had found his mojo, reclaiming his identity as both a musician and a person, and so a reinvigorated Foo Fighters marched on.<\/p>\n

The Colour And The Shape was a success for the band, peaking at No 3 in the 1997 UK album charts and at No 10 in the US Billboard 200. It has since gone platinum in six countries.<\/p>\n

As a single, Everlong only reached a shrug-worthy number 42 on the US Radio Songs chart by the year-end, but fared much better in the UK, where it peaked at No 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe funny thing about Everlong is that people consider [it] our biggest hit, and people consider that album [our] seminal record, but at the time it wasn\u2019t a huge hit,\u201d admitted Taylor Hawkins to NME. \u201cDave did an acoustic version later by happenstance [live on The Howard Stern Show], and that got played more than the rock version at first. That song took years to build up the kind of esteem that now has become \u2018the great Everlong.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the album and its four singles helped the band\u2019s rise immeasurably.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went on the road and we played as many places, as many shows as we could, and it was starting to grow,\u201d Grohl said. \u201cYou could see there were 2,000 people, 3,000 people, 4,000 people at gigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were no longer playing the afternoon slot at the festival. We were playing the evening slot at the festival. And Everlong was on the radio, and all of a sudden there were music videos on MTV and it was happening to us \u2013 that thing that happens to new bands as they start to get popular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foo Fighters – Everlong (Official HD Video) – YouTube
\n\"Foo<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

The Everlong video was created by French director Michel Gondry, fresh off of a creative hot streak with Bjork, and his iconic \u201990s promo clip has it all \u2013 Evil Dead references, Grohl with Liberty spike hair, Teddy Boys, a giant dial-up phone, and Hawkins dressed as Grohl\u2019s female companion.<\/p>\n

But Gondry originally had an even more elaborate idea. \u201cIt took him an hour to explain it,\u201d says Grohl. \u201cI had to tell him, \u2018Dude, the song is four fucking minutes long!\u2019 Daryl Hannah was supposed to be my love interest\u2026 The whole idea was amazing. He\u2019s a fucking genius. To make a video with him was an honour.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of becoming a fan favourite, the legacy of Everlong has been cemented in popular culture with appearances in TV shows Daria and Friends, as well as the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf Of Wall Street.<\/p>\n

Legendary late-night host David Letterman declared it his favourite song, helping him recover from heart surgery back in 2000. The band would honour Letterman by performing Everlong live on his final ever show in 2015.<\/p>\n

The already poignant track found even greater emotional significance in March 2022, as it was the last Foo Fighters song publicly performed by Hawkins, onstage at Lollapalooza Argentina just five days before his sudden passing.<\/p>\n

Everlong was also performed as the finale at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert, where an emotional Grohl performed solo \u2013 its profound lyrics taking on another meaning altogether.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that the song has become the band\u2019s most-played live number \u2013 nearly 1,200 known performances and counting \u2013 and closes nearly every show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you play a song like that every night, so many people connect with it, that sort of communal energy makes it magical, every fucking night,\u201d Grohl said. \u201cEvery time I sing, \u2018If everything could feel this real forever\u2019, and everyone else is singing it in time \u2013 that\u2019s pretty powerful. Even on your worst night, it still feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The recording of the Foo Fighters\u2019 second album The Colour And The Shape nearly saw the end of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-695660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}