Ever Present Past

"Ever Present Past" is a song by Paul McCartney and is the second track on his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. The song was also released as the first single from that album in the United States on 15 May 2007. The video for the song was premiered on 1 October 2007. McCartney played all the instruments on the song.[1]

"Ever Present Past"
Single by Paul McCartney
from the album Memory Almost Full
B-side
Released15 May 2007 (US)
5 November 2007 (UK)
RecordedOctober 2003 – February 2007
GenreRock
Length2:59
LabelMPL, Hear Music
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)David Kahne
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"Nod Your Head"
(2007)		 "Ever Present Past"
(2007)		 "Heal the Pain"
(2008)
Memory Almost Full track listing
13 tracks
  1. "Dance Tonight"
  2. "Ever Present Past"
  3. "See Your Sunshine"
  4. "Only Mama Knows"
  5. "You Tell Me"
  6. "Mr. Bellamy"
  7. "Gratitude"
  8. "Vintage Clothes"
  9. "That Was Me"
  10. "Feet in the Clouds"
  11. "House of Wax"
  12. "End of the End"
  13. "Nod Your Head"

The song was released as the second British single from Memory Almost Full on 5 November 2007 and debuted a week later at #85 in the UK Singles Chart (see 2007 in British music).[2] The single package included a unique "cut out and make your own mobius strip" insert.

The song was used in promotions for the premiere of Private Practice on ABC in Fall 2007.

Music video

The video was directed by British director Phil Griffin. McCartney enters an elegant hall, where a group of black-dressed and very similar female dancers walk around. He meets his doppelgänger, who starts dancing with the others while singing the song. The two McCartneys meet up two more times. At the end, McCartney is left alone in the middle of the room, bends on his knee and fades away slowly. This and the presence of the doppelgänger have been interpreted[3] as contemporary references to the Paul is dead urban legend.

Personnel

Personnel per Andrew Grant Jackson[4]

  • Paul McCartney - electric guitar w/ tone pedal Vox AC30, bass, harpsichord, flugelhorn, acoustic guitar, clavioline

Track listings
UK 7" (723 0621)
  1. "Ever Present Past" - 2:59
  2. "House of Wax" (Live) - 5:18
UK CD (723 0620)
  1. "Ever Present Past" - 2:59
  2. "Only Mama Knows" (Live) - 3:49
    • Recorded at Amoeba Music Los Angeles, 27 June 2007
  3. "Dance Tonight" (Live) - 3:15
    • Recorded at Amoeba Music Los Angeles, 27 June 2007
iTunes download
  1. "Ever Present Past" - 2:57
  2. "Only Mama Knows" (Live) - 3:45
    • Recorded at Amoeba Music Los Angeles, 27 June 2007
  3. "That Was Me" (Live) - 3:05
    • Recorded at Amoeba Music Los Angeles, 27 June 2007

Chart performance

"Ever Present Past" debuted the week ending 6 June 2007 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at #10[5] and the Pop 100 chart at #93.[6] A week later as Memory Almost Full debuted at #3 in the Billboard 200, the song debuted at #27 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, mirroring the placement of McCartney's 2006 single "This Never Happened Before", ultimately reaching #16 on that chart.[6] The video (currently posted on YouTube) has received over a million views. The song also reached #42 in Japan, #1 in Russia,[7] #29 in Scotland,[8] #48 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart [9] and #25 on the UK Physical Singles Chart.[10]

Notes
  1. Memory Almost Full (Booklet). Paul McCartney. Hear Music. 2007.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "The Official UK Charts Company: Top 100 Singles Chart". UK Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  3. "Michael Harbidge's Officially Pronounced Dead? website - Paul McCartney "clues"". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  4. Jackson, Andrew (2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of The Beatles' Solo Careers. Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8108-8222-5.
  5. (in Japanese) 【全米】アルバム売上枚数＆最新順位スレ【全英】9
  6. References for chart positions:
  7. https://tophit.ru/ru/search?str=paul+mccartney
  8. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/20071111/41/
  9. https://www.billboard.com/music/paul-mccartney/chart-history/CAC
  10. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-singles-chart/20071111/1/
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