"Past the Mission" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos

Tori Amos

Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...

. It was released as the third single from her second studio album Under the Pink

Under the Pink

Under the Pink is the second solo album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Upon its release in January 1994, the album peaked at US #12 and on the back of the hit single "Cornflake Girl", the album debuted at UK #1, her highest-charting UK album debut to date. It had sold around 220,000 copies in the...

. It was released in May 1994 by Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

 in North America and by EastWest Records

East West Records

East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...

 in the UK. The single was only released as a cassette single in the US but received two CD releases in the UK in addition to the cassette release, which featured several live tracks as B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

s.

Background

Regarding the origins of the song, Amos commented:

Trent Reznor

Trent Reznor

Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...

, founder of the industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

, sings background vocals on this track.

Unlike the massive successes of the album's lead singles, "Past the Mission" failed to chart on the U.S. Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. An alternate mix of "Past the Mission" appears on Amos' compilation box set A Piano: The Collection

A Piano: The Collection

A Piano: The Collection is a five-disc box set spanning the first 15 years of the solo career of American singer and song-writer Tori Amos. Released on September 26, 2006 by Rhino Records as part of the contract Amos negotiated with Warner Bros., the set consists of classics, rarities, demos,...

(2006).

Music video

The video begins with Tori, holding hands with two young girls, walking along a dirt road. As the three begin walking through a town, women join them in their march until there's 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 woman move to the ground, laying flat as the priest walks around them. The priest is 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 we saw at the beginning of the video.

Track listing

US cassette single

1. "Past the Mission" – 4:05
2. "Black Swan" – 4:04

UK CD single

1. "Upside Down" (live) – 5:57
2. "Past the Mission" (live) – 4:21
3. "Icicle" (live) – 7:50
4. "Flying Dutchman" (live) – 6:31

UK CD single 2

1. "Past the Mission" (LP edition) – 4:05
2. "Winter" (live) – 6:37
3. "The Waitress" (live) – 3:29
4. "Here. In My Head" (live) – 6:05