This Won't Last Forever

Album: Fighting Words (2021)

Songfacts®:

  • Ellen Foley sang with Meat Loaf in the '70s, most famously on "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." She released three solo albums from 1979-1983, then stopped to focus on acting. She started working with the songwriter-producer Paul Foglino in 2008, which led to their partnership on more Foley solo albums. "This Won't Last Forever" is a track they co-wrote that appears on her 2021 album Fighting Words. In a Songfacts interview with Foley, she said: "The song is really about endurance and surviving your mistakes."
  • Foley embedded an Easter egg in the lyrics:

    I remember death or glory
    It was mostly purgatory


    This is a reference to the Clash song "Death Or Glory," which appears on their 1979 album London Calling. Foley dated Mick Jones of The Clash and sang on their track "Hitsville UK." The Clash returned the favor, serving as her backing band on her 1981 album Spirit Of St. Louis.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

George Clinton

George ClintonSongwriter Interviews

When you free your mind, your ass may follow, but you have to make sure someone else doesn't program it while it's wide open.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.