The Everlasting Gaze Lyrics

[Intro]
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m, you know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead

[Verse 1]
Now you know
Where I’ve been
As you sleep
Torn I am
Weighted down
Patiently
Born of love

[Chorus 1]
You know I’m, you know I’m not dead
I’m just living in my head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And through it all
Into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
[Hook]
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m, you know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead

[Verse 2]
Found below
The creatures scream
Stranglehold
A god machine
Begging to
Tear us out
What is hell

[Chorus 2]
You know I’m, you know I’m not dead
I’m just the tears inside your head
Forever waiting
On the ways of your desire
You always find a way
And through it all
Into us all you move
Forgotten touch
Forbidden thought
We can never have enough
You know I’m not dead
[Bridge]
We all want to hold in the everlasting gaze
Enchanted in the rapture of his sentimental sway
But underneath the wheels lie the skulls of every cog
The fickle fascination of an everlasting god

[Verse 3]
You know I’m not dead
I’m just living in my head
Forever waiting
Forever waiting a cruel death
You know I’m not dead
I’m just living for myself
Forever waiting

[Outro]
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead
You know I’m not dead

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About

Genius Annotation

Both the lead single and opening track for Machina, “The Everlasting Gaze” was released on December 9, 1999, complete with a music video directed by the Grammy award-winning artist, Jonas Åkerlund. The video gave us the first glimpse of the new band line-up, bringing back drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and replacing D'arcy Wretzky with former Hole bandmate Melissa Auf der Maur as the bassist.

Musically, this has a very similar sound to “Zero”. Not only are the effects on the lead guitar nearly identical, but the primary guitar riff itself is very similar. Both songs use a lot of the same notes and the guitar sequences are compressed into roughly one bar. “The Everlasting Gaze” however alternates between one bar of guitar and one of drums and vocals, an effective formula used mostly in the blues genre. In contrast, “Zero” plays the guitar riff continuously.

Both songs also have a moment in the second verse where all instrumentation comes to a sudden halt while Corgan executes one of his famous vocal rants. The lyrics from this particular moment in “Zero” are now quite famous:

Emptiness is loneliness
And loneliness is cleanliness
And cleanliness is Godliness
So God is empty
Just like me"

The similarities to “Zero” are quite fitting given this album introduces the listener to a character named Zero. This alter-ego Corgan speaks through is, in essence, a hyperbolic personification of his own public persona. Just as other artists such as David Bowie and Eminem have done, he created a cartoonish version of himself that he can use to interact with both the media and the public.

Billy Corgan wrote and composed the track. Regarding the overall meaning, he told the the Chicago Sun-Times on April of 2000:

[It] has a lot to do with spirituality and trying to find my place in the universe and sort of humbly accepting limitations and the things I’ve been graced with. It’s more of a humanistic world view. I’m not writing anymore for the tortured teen…I’m writing with the idea that everybody’s experiencing these things all the time, and even if they’re not experiencing them personally, they’re affected by them. You can live in the street and write about the garbage, or you can try to get up a little higher and look down and try to see the bigger picture.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The Smashing Pumpkins say about "The Everlasting Gaze"?
Genius Answer

Yes, Billy Corgan talks about it here:

‘The Everlasting Gaze’ started as a disco song. It’s original title was ‘Disco King’ and had something to do with mocking people on the dance floor. How it transitioned into what it became I’m not sure. But somehow the main riff never went away.

-Billy Corgan via radio interview

What is the general idea behind this song?
Genius Answer

Corgan told the Chicago Sun Times,

[It] has a lot to do with spirituality and trying to find my place in the universe and sort of humbly accepting limitations and the things I’ve been graced with. It’s more of a humanistic world view. I’m not writing anymore for the tortured teen—both me and whoever was listening. I’m writing with the idea that everybody’s experiencing these things all the time, and even if they’re not experiencing them personally, they’re affected by them. You can live in the street and write about the garbage, or you can try to get up a little higher and look down and try to see the bigger picture.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Video Director
Additional Programming
Compiled By
Technical Assistance
Mastered by
Guitarist
Guitar and Vocals
Recorded At
Chicago Recording Company
Release Date
December 9, 1999
The Everlasting Gaze Interpolations
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