From Yesterday

{{Short description|2006 single by 30 Seconds to Mars}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox song

| name = From Yesterday

| cover = From_yesterday_art_1.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Thirty Seconds to Mars

| album = A Beautiful Lie

| released = November 7, 2006

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| length = 4:08

| label = {{hlist|Immortal|Virgin}}

| writer = {{hlist|Jared Leto|Shannon Leto|Tomo Miličević|Matt Wachter}}

| producer = Josh Abraham

| prev_title = The Kill (Bury Me)

| prev_year = 2006

| next_title = A Beautiful Lie

| next_year = 2007

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|RpG7FzXrNSs|"From Yesterday"}}}}

{{Audio sample

| type = single

| file = Thirty Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday.ogg

| description = From Yesterday

}}

}}

"From Yesterday" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the third single released from their second album A Beautiful Lie. The song impacted radio on October 17, 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.allaccess.com/mail/archive/eweekly/alternative/2006-10-10.html|title=AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly|work=AllAccess|date=October 10, 2006|access-date=July 1, 2016}} The music video for the song is believed to be the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China in its entirety.{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/30_seconds_to_mars_weve_always_been_open_and_engaged_with_our_listeners.html |title=30 Seconds To Mars: 'We've Always Been Open And Engaged With Our Listeners' | Interviews @ |publisher=Ultimate-guitar.com |date=February 24, 2010 |access-date=February 17, 2012}} The music video is also the last video by the band to feature bass player Matt Wachter. The song won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.

Music video

There are three video edits, a 13 and half-minute full edit complete with dialogue, scenes and ending credits, a 5 and half minute edit, an edited 4-minute version intended for broadcast. It was filmed using 400 Chinese soldiers (they are seen holding flags at the beginning of the video) and 20 horses. The film starts with a young boy, presumably the Emperor Puyi, being asked what he would like for his birthday. He simply states "The Sound of Tomorrow". The action then cuts to a plain white room with the band members, clad in white outfits similar to those worn in fencing, each doing their own thing in preparation for a show. An Asian woman enters and tells them that it is time. She leads them out into the hall and disappears. They walk down to the end of the hall where they attempt to open the door. They are unable to and understand it's locked, as Jared says. The lights start to flicker and they go out, leaving the band puzzled.

It then opens to another scene where the band is walking through giant gates into the row of Chinese soldiers, now wearing black ninja-like outfits. As they are all walking down, Jared notices a woman wearing a white mask walking on the exterior of the row, unnoticed by the others.

The band are then taken to the hall where the Emperor is situated, and are given scrolls. Jared then says to his brother, Shannon Leto (the band's drummer): "This is a gift?"

The band is then shown putting on supposedly traditional Chinese armor before meeting in an alleyway for a battle against four others, dressed in identical armor. This scene is mixed with each band member being led to a different part of the kingdom, encountering various practices believed to be Chinese traditions. Matt Wachter encounters the butler whipping himself who then laughs maniacally; Tomo Miličević finds a dead woman lying on her bed, and someone proceeds to put a small black ball (A black pearl of wisdom,{{Cite web|url=http://www.mooreablackpearl.com/pearl_legends.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506200811/http://www.mooreablackpearl.com/pearl_legends.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 6, 2015|title=Moorea Black Pearl - Pearl Legends|date=May 6, 2015|access-date=December 19, 2018}} which is a Chinese custom{{Cite web|url=http://www.mooreablackpearl.com/pearl_legends.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506200811/http://www.mooreablackpearl.com/pearl_legends.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 6, 2015|title=Moorea Black Pearl - Pearl Legends|date=May 6, 2015|access-date=December 19, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2015-11-30_175737.html|title=Chinese death rituals {{!}} Infopedia|website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg|access-date=December 19, 2018}}) into her mouth; Shannon sees a grown man being breast-fed by his mother or wife; and Jared accidentally walks in on silver long nosed masks wearing occult ritually preparing to sacrifice three young women with their heads in a single pillory board.

At the end of the video, the band members end up fighting each other and four warriors. They wear masks, and thus cannot see who is who. Four of the warriors are slain, and the remaining four wind up in a stalemate. They slowly remove their masks, revealing that 30 Seconds to Mars are all alive. The video then samples "A Beautiful Lie", released as the band's next single.

For a very brief period of time during the butler's whipping scene, an image of the butler appears where he is wearing a rabbit suit mask. It does not seem that this image has anything to do with the story, but may be a brief allusion to "The Kill" in which something similar appears midway through the video.

The video can be seen as a tribute to the film The Last Emperor since several of the scenes and characters are directly inspired by the film. The MV was shot on location in the Forbidden City and the Emperor Qin palace.[https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/56648/30-seconds-to-mars-visits-china-for-new-video billboard.com]

Track listing

  • Standard version
  1. "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
  2. "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions Undercover)
  • US (CD)
  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  2. "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions Undercover)
  • UK (CD)
  1. "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
  2. "Stronger" – 6:01 (Radio 1's Live Lounge 2)
  3. "From Yesterday" – 13:40 full director's cut video (enhanced CD)
  • UK (7-inch vinyl 1)

This limited edition vinyl is clear, and comes in a gatefold case

  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:14 (Chris Lord-Alge Mix)
  2. "The Kill (Bury Me)" – 3:47 (Radio 1 Live)
  • UK (7-inch vinyl 2)

This is also limited edition, but is red, and has the band members' signatures etched into the back

  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  • US (7-inch vinyl 1)
  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  2. "The Kill (Bury Me)" – 3:51

Personnel

Commercial performance

"From Yesterday" reached number 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it Thirty Seconds to Mars' first number 1 on any Billboard chart. It peaked higher than "The Kill", which is considered to be the band's breakthrough single (although "The Kill" did better on the Hot 100 and stayed longer on the Modern Rock Tracks chart).

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
Chart (2007–2008)

!Peak
position

{{single chart|Australia|33|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Austria|53|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
scope="row"| Canada Rock (Billboard){{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/thirty-seconds-to-mars/chart-history/car/|title=Thirty Seconds To Mars Chart History (Canada Rock)|work=Billboard|access-date=November 15, 2023}}

| 18

{{single chart|Czech Republic|27|year=2007|week=29|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Finnishdownload|16|artist=30 Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Germany|72|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|songid=260175|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Italy|45|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Dutch100|56|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|New Zealand|13|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|song=From Yesterday|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
scope="row"| Portugal (AFP){{cite web|url=https://acharts.co/song/11889 |title=From Yesterday by 30 Seconds To Mars – Music Charts |publisher=Acharts.us |access-date=June 25, 2017}}

| 17

{{single chart|Scotland|10|date=20080216|rowheader=true|access-date=January 9, 2021}}
{{single chart|Slovakia|78|year=2007|week=31|rowheader=true|access-date=January 9, 2021}}
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|37|artist=30 Seconds to Mars|artistid=2171|rowheader=true|access-date=January 9, 2021}}
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|76|artist=30 Seconds to Mars|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|1|artist=30 Seconds to Mars|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|11|artist=30 Seconds to Mars|rowheader=true|access-date=June 25, 2017}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Thirty Seconds to Mars|title=From Yesterday|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2006|relmonth=11|certyear=2011|source=archive|accessdate=October 6, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true}}

Release history

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Release history and formats for "From Yesterday"

!Country

!Release date

!Version

scope="row"|United States

|November 7, 2006

|rowspan="5"|Original

scope="row"|United Kingdom

|January 16, 2007

scope="row"|Australia

|rowspan="2"|April 20, 2007

scope="row"|Italy
scope="row"|Latvia

|rowspan="2"|February 4, 2008

scope="row"|United Kingdom

|Re-release

References