# Best Song About Death and Dying **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515 "2007-06-18T22:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/81 "2007-06-21T18:10:09Z")
Jeez Loise. Nobody has yet mentioned _Always Look On The Bright Side of Life_? Barbarians. _Seasons In the Sun_? One of the finest songs the Kingston Trio ever recorded. I know not this “Terry Jacks” impostor. _Sand And Water_ by Beth Nielson Chapman. At first I thought it was just a whiny breakup song, but when I finally paid attention to the lyrics, it grew on me. It’s a woman mourning the loss of her boyfriend/husband, and finding new meaning in life as she realized her lover’s spirit is alive and well in their son. _She Goes On_ by Crowded House. I interpret it as a recognition that the eponymous “she”, though no longer “here”, is _still_ a beautiful person, and that she led a beautiful life worth remembering with joy. It inspired one of my finer bits of bad verse (now making its Internet debut): “Her many-storied life is done, grieve not her passing, pray / For while she lived she taught the sun t’ illuminate the day”. Throw all the tomatoes you want. I like it. _Try We Life-Long_, from _The Gondoliers_, by Gilbert and Sullivan. “Hop and skip to Fancy’s fiddle / Hands across and down the middle / Life’s perhaps the only riddle / That we shrink from giving up” ---
**Author:** ![pprgrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f6c823/32.png) [@pprgrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pprgrl)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/82 "2007-06-21T18:14:54Z")
“May The Circle Be Unbroken” gets me everytime. I like the Carter Family’s version best, but there’s lots of them out there. Scout Niblett’s cover of “Trudy Dies” is also pretty damn haunting. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/83 "2007-06-21T19:12:28Z")
Well, we seem to have come to the “Let’s compile an exhaustive list” phase of the thread, and so I will add: [Floyd County](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dwight+yoakam/floyd+county_20044100.html) and [I Sang Dixie](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dwight+yoakam/i+sang+dixie_20044105.html) …both by **Dwight Yoakam**. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/84 "2007-06-21T19:32:29Z")
[He Stopped Loving Her Today](http://www.geocities.com/~sheri_tesar/lyrics/songs_george.html) by George Jones. Pure glurge ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/85 "2007-06-21T19:34:57Z")
Really can’t beat ‘Keep Me In Your Heart" and "Knockin’" by Zevon. But my choice for third place is “Sadder Day” by Fleming and John. It’s a very happy song until you realize she’s singing about a friend of hers who ends up killing himself. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/86 "2007-06-22T05:30:51Z")
“Dimming of the day” by Richard and Linda Thompson ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/87 "2007-06-22T15:17:26Z")
One of my favorites is _Arrival’s Gate_ by Ani diFranco. My two favorite verses: \*gonna go out to the arrivals gate at the airport and sit there all day watch people reuniting public affection is so exciting it even makes airports ok watching children run with their arms outstretched just to throw those arms around their grandpas’ necks watching lovers plant kisses old men to their misses at the arrivals gate watching a mother with a mother’s smile don’t tell me to move i just wanna sit here for a while i have determined it’s a sure cure for cancer watching excitment turn family dogs into dancers at the arrivals gate\* On the surface it’s about the airport, but it always sounds to me like she’s singing about the afterlife, and how your loved ones meet you there. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/88 "2007-06-22T15:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Ichbin Dubist] From the death-haunted world of country music: The Stanley Brothers, “Angel Band”: _Oh come, angel band Come and around me stand Oh bear me away on your snow-white wings To my immortal home_ … and about a hundred other Stanley Brothers songs. And a thousand other bluegrass songs. “One Dyin’ and A Buryin’,” Roger Miller: _One dyin’ and a buryin’, Some cryin’, six carryin’ me. I want to be free._ & “Sing Me Back Home,” Merle Haggard “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” George Jones “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” Hank Williams Trivia: the lyrics to all these songs were written by notable bearded poet Rod McKuen! [/QUOTE] Just which songs exactly are you saying that Rod McKuen wrote? He certainly did not write any of the ones you name above? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/89 "2007-06-22T15:36:50Z")
James Taylor’s masterpiece “Fire & Rain” Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground. Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I always thought I’d see you one more time again. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/90 "2007-06-22T16:44:57Z")
From the very first Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album, “Buy for Me the Rain.” A bittersweet song about life’s fragility, with the haunting last line: > [@](#): > > Gravestones cheer the living, dear, they’re no use to the dead. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/91 "2007-06-22T16:59:42Z")
If you are talking about wishing death on someone there is no better song than Ænema by Tool. > [@](#): > > Some say a comet will fall from the sky. > Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves. > Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still. > Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits. > Some say the end is near. > Some say we’ll see armageddon soon. > I certainly hope we will. > I sure could use a vacation from this > Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit. > One great big festering neon distraction, > I’ve a suggestion to keep you all occupied. > Learn to swim and > [@](#): > > 'cause I’m praying for rain > And I’m praying for tidal waves > I wanna see the ground give way. > I wanna watch it all go down. > Mom please flush it all away. > I wanna see it go right in and down. > I wanna watch it go right in. > Watch you flush it all away. The man does not like Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/92 "2007-06-22T18:08:44Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] If you are talking about wishing death on someone there is no better song than Ænema by Tool… [/QUOTE] Well, there’s “Did She Jump or Was She Pushed” by Richard Thompson. (Apparently written just after his divorce.) He’s written several good “dead” songs–from meditative to not-so-meditative. ---
**Author:** ![\_x0HOLLiSTER0x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/839c29/32.png) [@\_x0HOLLiSTER0x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_x0HOLLiSTER0x)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/93 "2007-06-22T19:59:48Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Speaking of Death Cab for Cutie, there’s [I Will Follow You Into the Dark](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/death+cab+for+cutie/i+will+follow+you+into+the+dark_20403603.html): _Love Of Mine Some Day You Will Die But I’ll Be Close Behind I’ll Follow You Into The Dark No Blinding Light Or Tunnels To Gates Of White Just Our Hands Clasped So Tight Waiting For The Hint Of A Spark_ [/QUOTE] I always wondered if that was about a suicide pact? Like “When you die, worry not, for I will kill myself so I can be with you”? Or more of a “When you die, I’ll be at peace knowing you’re in heaven and I know you’ll be there when my time comes”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/94 "2007-06-22T20:22:45Z")
Some that haven’t been mentioned: _I Am Stretched On Your Grave_ – Sinead O’Connor or Dead Can Dance, depending on preference. Creepy as hell. _The Green Fields of France_ – Eric Bogle wrote it, I heard it sung by an Australian band whose name I just can’t remember at the moment. All the Irish folk songs that aren’t about drinking. 😃 _Into the West_ – yeah, the one from Return of the King. I’m a sap, I admit it. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/95 "2007-06-22T21:26:13Z")
[QUOTE=❤x0HOLLiSTER0x​❤] I always wondered if that was about a suicide pact? Like “When you die, worry not, for I will kill myself so I can be with you”? Or more of a “When you die, I’ll be at peace knowing you’re in heaven and I know you’ll be there when my time comes”? [/QUOTE] I’ve thought of it as a more symbolic “I love you so much, I’d follow you anywhere, including to my own death” sort of message. It also has a dash of “us against them” where he discusses that they don’t need Heaven or Hell, only each other. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/96 "2007-06-22T22:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] I’ve thought of it as a more symbolic “I love you so much, I’d follow you anywhere, including to my own death” sort of message. [/QUOTE] In that vein, here’s a classic video by **Shakespeare’s Sister** : [Stay With Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eXw47qb4U0). ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/97 "2007-06-22T22:55:23Z")
_In My Time of Dying_, **Led Zeppelin**. - Nobody mentioned this? ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/98 "2007-06-24T03:30:40Z")
[QUOTE=JohnGalt] What?!!? No mention of **Don’t Fear the Reaper**? Heresy! [/QUOTE] If it only had more cowbell… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/99 "2007-06-24T04:15:34Z")
Don McLean - American Pie 1971 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHkT2YfqHE4) Even though it was not a song from my generation, I see it as a classic piece of grief and nostalgia. For a guy that likes history it is like a time capsule. … \*I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where I’d heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldn’t play. And in the streets the children screamed The lovers cried and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken And the three men I admire most The Father Son and Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died And they were singing… Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ol’ boys were drinkin whiskey and rye Singing “This’ll be the day that I die, This’ll be the day that I die.”\* His take on “Vincent” Van Gogh goes to the subject of this thread too: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5-kMXwkmPk) ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515/100 "2007-06-24T04:51:12Z")
Right off the top of my mind… “Family Reserve” by Lyle Lovett “Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake” by Bill Monroe “Amelia Earhart vs. the Dancing Bear” by The Handsome Family “Red Water” - by Type “O” Negative “O Death” - Appalachian folk song [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-about-death-and-dying/408515.md?page=6)