Eternity

About

Written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, Eternity was released on 9 July 2001 as a double A-side with The Road to Mandalay. It became Williams’ fourth UK number one, selling more than 400,000 copies and earning a gold certification. The single also charted across Europe and New Zealand, closing the Sing When You’re Winning campaign on a reflective, romantic note.

Though not included on the original album, Eternity was recorded during the same sessions and later featured on Williams’ 2004 Greatest Hits. With guitar contributions from Queen’s Brian May, the song marks a return to simplicity after the grandeur of the album’s earlier singles. Williams described it as inspired by a peaceful summer and enduring friendships rather than a conventional love affair.

Eternity came off the back of the most amazing summer I’d had, the best holiday since I’d been with my dad in Scarborough or Great Yarmouth. It’s about that amazing time and the people involved.Robbie Williams

Musically, it combines gentle acoustic guitar, strings and pedal steel in a style closer to folk-pop than Williams’ usual stadium sound. Lyrically, it contemplates time and transience — “Youth is wasted on the young, before you know it, it’s come and gone too soon” — with understated sincerity. Despite its modest tone, the song resonated deeply with audiences and became a staple of his live performances in Europe and Australia.

The companion video, also directed by Vaughan Arnell, continues the story from The Road to Mandalay, revealing Williams’ character’s arrest and separation from his lover. Filmed in southern France, it reinforced the cinematic ambition of the project. Though Williams has occasionally dismissed Eternity as overly sentimental, it remains one of his most beloved ballads, admired for its warmth, simplicity and emotional honesty.