# Past the Mission

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1994 single by Tori Amos

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"Past the Mission" Standard cover art for most editions Single by Tori Amos from the album Under the Pink B-side "Black Swan" Released May 16, 1994 Studio The Fishhouse (Taos, New Mexico)[1] Genre Pop[2] Length 4:05 Label Atlantic EastWest Songwriter Tori Amos Producer Tori Amos Tori Amos singles chronology "Pretty Good Year" (1994) "Past the Mission" (1994) "Caught a Lite Sneeze" (1996) Music video "Past the Mission" on YouTube

"**Past the Mission**" is a song by American singer-songwriter and pianist [Tori Amos](/source/Tori_Amos). It was released as the third single from her second studio album, *[Under the Pink](/source/Under_the_Pink)* (1994), in Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Past the Mission" was issued in May 1994 by [EastWest Records](/source/East_West_Records) in the UK, in July 1994 in Australia, and in September 1994 by [Atlantic Records](/source/Atlantic_Records) in the U.S. Two different [CD singles](/source/CD_single) containing live [B-sides](/source/A-side_and_B-side) were released in the UK, and the second of these was released in continental Europe and Australia. In the US, the single was only released commercially on cassette, although a promotional CD single was produced.

## Background

Regarding the origins of the song, Amos commented:

"Past the Mission" refers to a personal experience with sexual violence, which I had a song about on *Little Earthquakes* also. So, the remark 'I once knew a hot girl' is painful. Where’s she gone? On this record there are songs about the healing from that experience, like "Baker Baker" ('Make me whole again'), "Past the Mission", "Yes, Anastasia". The idea is to rescue myself from the role of a victim. That I have a choice left. Though I can't change what has happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being bitter and locked up. That’s also the thought behind the phrase 'past the mission/I smell the roses'.[3]

[Trent Reznor](/source/Trent_Reznor), founder of the industrial rock group [Nine Inch Nails](/source/Nine_Inch_Nails), sings background vocals on this track. An alternate mix of "Past the Mission" appears on Amos's compilation box set *[A Piano: The Collection](/source/A_Piano%3A_The_Collection)* (2006).

## Critical reception

[Larry Flick](/source/Larry_Flick) from *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* magazine wrote, "Amos is an acquired taste that many are wisely beginning to indulge in. This haunting, piano-rooted tune gives her plenty of room to stretch her unique vocal style. Pleasing chord progressions have a sort of [country-pop](/source/Country-pop) quality, which fits her piercing [soprano](/source/Soprano) quite nicely. Far more sophisticated than standard top 40 fare, but well worth the programming effort."[4]

## Chart performance

"Past the Mission" reached the top 40 in both the UK and Ireland,[5][6] but it failed to chart on the [US Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100) and peaked outside the top 100 in Australia.[7][8]

## Music video

The accompanying music video for "Past the Mission" begins with Amos holding hands with two young women, walking along a dirt road. As the three begin walking through a town named [Arcos de la Frontera](/source/Arcos_de_la_Frontera), Spain, other women join them in their march until there is a large parade as the men look on. The women are eventually confronted by a male priest, who blocks their pathway. One by one the women move to the ground, laying flat as the priest walks around and steps over them. The priest is then joined by the rest of the men, who all walk away as the women stand up and continue their march, eventually finding themselves in the open field seen at the beginning of the video. The video ends with a young boy running to catch up with the ever advancing parade of women.

## Track listings

The UK CD single set was sold in two parts. The non-limited part (CD 2) comes in a slim jewel case and the disc features a photo-negative image of Amos playing a piano. The limited edition (CD 1) comes in a triple gatefold digipak case with two slots to house each CD in the set. In place of the second disc there is a cardboard cutout that looks like the CD. The owner can replace the cutout with the actual CD from the other half of the set. The second CD was also released in Germany and looks nearly identical excepting that the image on the disc is a positive image, not photo-negative.

- **UK 7-inch single** – EastWest A7257

- **UK cassette single / Australian cassette single** – EastWest A7257C

1. "Past the Mission" (Album version) – 4:05

1. "Past the Mission" (Live) – 4:21

- **UK CD 1** (Limited Edition) – EastWest A7257CDX

1. "Upside Down" (Live) – 5:57

1. "Past the Mission" (Live) – 4:21

1. "Icicle" (Live) – 7:50

1. "Flying Dutchman" (Live) – 6:31

- **UK CD 2 / European CD / Australian CD** – EastWest A7257CD

1. "Past the Mission" (Album version) – 4:05

1. "Winter" (Live) – 6:37

1. "The Waitress" (Live) – 3:29

1. "Here. In My Head" (Live) – 6:05

- **US cassette single** – Atlantic 4-87206

1. "Past the Mission" (Album version) – 4:05

1. "Black Swan" – 4:04

## Charts

Chart (1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 116 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] 68 Ireland (IRMA)[6] 25 UK Singles (OCC)[5] 31

## Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. United Kingdom May 16, 1994 7-inch vinyl CD1 cassette EastWest [citation needed] May 23, 1994 CD2 [10] Australia July 4, 1994 CD cassette [11] United States September 27, 1994 Cassette Atlantic [citation needed]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*Under the Pink*](/source/Under_the_Pink) (US CD album booklet). Tori Amos. Atlantic Records. 1994. 82567-2.{{[cite AV media notes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_AV_media_notes)}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_others_in_cite_AV_media_(notes)))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MusicHound_Rock_2-0)** Christensen, Thor (1998). "Tori Amos". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). *MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide*. Detroit: [Visible Ink Press](/source/Visible_Ink_Press). p. 26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** St Louis Dispatch - July 15, 1994

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Flick, Larry](/source/Larry_Flick) (September 24, 1994). ["Single Reviews: Pop"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-09-24.pdf#page=69) (PDF). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. p. 73. Retrieved May 30, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-uk_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-uk_5-1) "[Official Singles Chart on 4/6/1994 – Top 100](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19940604/7501/)". [Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company). Retrieved January 24, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ire_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ire_6-1) "[The Irish Charts – Search Results – Past the Mission](http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=1&search_type=title&placement=Past%20the%20Mission)". [Irish Singles Chart](/source/Irish_Singles_Chart). Retrieved January 24, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [http://www.hereinmyhead.com/collect/under/ptmuk.html](http://www.hereinmyhead.com/collect/under/ptmuk.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100718093938/http://www.hereinmyhead.com/collect/under/ptmuk.html) July 18, 2010, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) -- hereinmyhead.com

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-aus_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-aus_8-1) ["Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2014-06-17"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020821/http://i.imgur.com/9AQCjII.jpg). Archived from [the original](http://i.imgur.com/9AQCjII.jpg) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2016 – via [Imgur](/source/Imgur).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". *[Music & Media](/source/Music_%26_Media)*. Vol. 11, no. 24. June 11, 1994. p. 12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Tori Amos Past the Mission (UK promotional display flat)"](http://i.imgur.com/EMYFlOg.jpg). Retrieved March 13, 2016 – via Imgur.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["New Release Summary – Product Available from: 04/07/1994 > Singles (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 229 – Week Ending 3rd July 1994)"](http://i.imgur.com/VvQNL8Y.jpg). [ARIA](/source/Australian_Recording_Industry_Association). Retrieved April 9, 2016.

v t e Tori Amos Discography List of songs Studio albums Little Earthquakes Under the Pink Boys for Pele From the Choirgirl Hotel To Venus and Back Strange Little Girls Scarlet's Walk The Beekeeper American Doll Posse Abnormally Attracted to Sin Midwinter Graces Night of Hunters Gold Dust Unrepentant Geraldines Native Invader Ocean to Ocean The Music of Tori and the Muses In Times of Dragons Compilations Tales of a Librarian A Piano: The Collection Little Earthquakes – The B-Sides Live albums To Venus and Back The Original Bootlegs Legs and Boots Live at Montreux 1991/1992 From Russia with Love Diving Deep Live EPs Crucify Hey Jupiter Scarlet's Hidden Treasures Exclusive Session Flavor (Peter Rauhofer Mixes) Christmastide Singles "Baltimore" "Me and a Gun" "Silent All These Years" "China" "Winter" "Crucify" "Cornflake Girl" "God" "Pretty Good Year" "Past the Mission" "Caught a Lite Sneeze" "Talula" "Professional Widow" "Hey Jupiter" "In the Springtime of His Voodoo" "Spark" "Jackie's Strength" "Cruel"/"Raspberry Swirl" "Bliss" "1000 Oceans" "Glory of the 80's" "Concertina" "Strange Little Girl" "A Sorta Fairytale" "Taxi Ride" "Don't Make Me Come to Vegas" "Mary" "Sleeps with Butterflies" "Sweet the Sting" "Big Wheel" "Bouncing Off Clouds" "Welcome to England" "Maybe California" "A Silent Night with You" "Carry" "Flavor" "Trouble's Lament" "Cloud Riders" "Speaking with Trees" Other songs "Putting the Damage On" "Dātura" Videos Little Earthquakes Live from New York Complete Videos: 1991–1998 A Sorta Fairytale Welcome to Sunny Florida Fade to Red Live at Montreux 1991/1992 Tours 5 ½ Weeks Tour Night of Hunters Tour Gold Dust Orchestral Tour Unrepentant Geraldines Tour Native Invader Tour Related articles Piece by Piece Comic Book Tattoo Delirium Y Kant Tori Read Y Kant Tori Read "The Big Picture" "Cool on Your Island" "Blue Skies" RAINN The Light Princess Original Cast Recording

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Past the Mission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_the_Mission) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_the_Mission?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.