"The Everlasting" is the second single to be lifted from the Manic Street Preachers's fifth studio album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours. It was released on 30 November 1998 through Epic, it peaked on number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, breaking their run of consecutive top-ten hits. All three members of the band—James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire—share the writing credits.
Background
The title, "The Everlasting", was borrowed from a poem by Nicky Wire's brother Patrick Jones, after Wire had spent some time trying to think of a title similar to Blur's "The Universal" or Joy Division's "The Eternal". "The Everlasting" has been described as grand, elegiac and in some ways quite profoundly sad. The lyric hints at life's diminishing returns as one ages and lose one's idealism.
The song features a combination of live and synthetic instrumentation, including acoustic guitar, electric guitar with a tremolo effect, drum loops and real and simulated strings.
A shortened edit of the song is also featured on the 2002 compilation Forever Delayed.
Release
The single was released on 30 November 1998, peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. It broke their run of five consecutive top-10 hits but stayed on the chart for 12 weeks.
Promotional video
The promotional video that accompanied the song was censored because it included shots of people on fire. The original version was considered insensitive as the release of the single coincided with the well-publicised inquest into the death of Michael Menson, who had been set on fire by three men in a street attack. Two versions of the video were therefore produced - one with computer generated flames, one without. The video was filmed at Euston railway station in London.
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!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)
|3
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!scope="row"|Italy Airplay (Music & Media)
| 4
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!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)
|7
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Year-end charts
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!Chart (1998)
!Position
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!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|186
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