Chords + Lyrics | Everlong (drop D)
Intro
||: Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 | Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 :|| x3
Verse 1
| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
Hello, I’ve waited here for you.
| Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
Everlong.
| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
Tonight, I throw myself into,
| Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
and out of the red out of her head, she sang.
Instrumental 1
| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 | Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
Do, do, do, do…
Verse 2
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.
Bridge 1
| (C# D E) | (E F# G F#) | A5 | (C# D E)| (E F# G F#) |
And I wonder.
| A5 | (C# D E) | (E F# G F#) |
When I sing along with you.
Chorus 1
| B5 | G5 | D5 | D5 |
If everything could ever be this real forever.
| B5 | G5 | D5 | D5 |
If anything could ever be this good again.
| B5 | G5 | D5 | A5 | G5 | G5 |
The only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when. She sang.
Instrumental 2
| Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 | Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 |
Do, do, do, do…
Verse 3
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.
Bridge 2
And I wonder.
When I sing along with you.
Chorus 2
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 whe. She sang.
Instrumental 3
||: Dmaj7 | Dmaj7 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 | Gsus2 | Bsus2 | Bsus2 :||
||: (C# D E) | (E F# G F#) :|| x3
And I wonder.
Chorus 3
If everything could ever feel this real forever.
If anything could ever be this good again.
| B5 | G5 | D5 | A5 ||: G5 | G5 :||
The only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when.
Everlong Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Everlong. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Dave Grohl crafted some interesting chord choices for Everlong, using Dmaj7, Bsus2, and Gsus2 in the verse. To play it properly, you’ll need to tune your guitar to drop D.
The first chord is particularly unusual, as it lacks a 5th. To move from Dmaj7 to Bsus2, simply fret the 9th fret on the 6th string instead of playing the open, detuned string.
Adding to its uniqueness, the verse lasts seven bars instead of the typical four or eight. Structurally, it follows a I – VI – IV progression, but the extended format and chord voicings make it feel distinct—an excellent songwriting trick from Mr. Grohl.
You do need TAB to make sense of all this, keep scrolling to find it further down this guitar lesson.
Bridge
After a few verses and some “do, do, do’s” over the same progression, we reach the bridge, which features a displaced chromatic riff:
| (C# D E) | (E F# G F#) |
Initially, this leads to an A power chord. The sequence repeats before transitioning into the chorus.
Chorus
Here, we rearrange the verse progression into VI – IV – I, stripping away the extensions—a brilliant variation technique.
| B5 | G5 | D5 | D5 |
| B5 | G5 | D5 | D5 |
| B5 | G5 | D5 | A5 |
| G5 | G5 |
To add variety, the third time around, it moves to A5 (chord V) before G5 (chord IV).
There are more variations to discuss but you really need TAB to make sense of it all (keep scrolling).
Here’s a chord chart detailing the structure.
Everlong Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chart as a PDF, or in the iReal Pro format:
Everlong | TAB
We are going to look at an enormous amount of TAB now as in order to play Everlong in a band as the only guitarist, every little detail must be considered.
Intro
Let’s start with that intro played clean, this is the only part we’ll play as on the record!
Do spend a long time on this before you move on to incorporating the long held chords, like this:
As the drums enter, play this:
Verse
When the verse starts, we pull back and play a similar but not the same riff:
Instrumental 1
Next up, we play an instrumental section which reminds us of the intro.
Bridge 1 + 2
The next new section to play is the bridge, which I feel is the signature part of this tune.
Chorus
The easiest part to play is definitely the chorus.
Instrumental 2
The second instrumental section is different, goes like this:
Bridge 3
Lastly, the 3rd bridge is looped, like this:
When you can play all sections, play along using just the chord chart and backing tracks above.
The First Sign That Foo Fighters Were Here to Stay
Released as the second single from The Colour and the Shape, Everlong marked a turning point for Foo Fighters. Though their debut album lacked major hits, this record produced My Hero and Monkey Wrench, proving that the band had staying power.
The song performed well, reaching number three in the U.S. and Canada, but its significance grew over time, becoming a fan favourite and one of the band’s most beloved tracks.
Lyrically, Everlong was inspired by Louise Post, whom Dave Grohl had fallen in love with. He wrote the song while staying at a friend’s house during his divorce from Jennifer Leigh Youngblood. Louise even recorded the iconic “do, do, do, do’s” over a telephone line, adding a hauntingly intimate touch to the track.
In 2022, following the tragic death of Taylor Hawkins from a drug overdose in Colombia, Foo Fighters played Everlong as their final song that night, making it an even more poignant moment in the band’s history.
Everlong Chords: Continue Learning
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