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Thread: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

  1. #1
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    Default Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    Mine is "New Train," by John Prine, from his "Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings" CD. A link to the lyrics,

    http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.n...256A2A002D3730

    After the discussion re: copyright in the Member Boards section, I'm not sure exactly how many lyrics snippets can be posted here, but I guess it's okay if you do a brief analysis. This CD was produced by the late Howie Epstein, bass player with Tom Petty's Heartbreakers for 20 years.

    As to the lyrics, the song seems simultaneously serious and silly to me. Serious, such as,

    "All new directions must go everywhere" which seems like something straight out of quantum physics to me.

    And the silly, yet serious dismissal of the existence of Haedes in the couple of lines,

    "No melted ice cubes in a paper cup/
    Hell, you'll be happy, you'll be all shook up"

    and perhaps the shedding of the ego (e.g., you refer to yourself as Mary, or Steve, etc.) after making this particular transition,

    "No faded photographs of yesterdays/
    Are in the books that I read these days/
    To fly away from that memory town/
    You must keep both your feet on the ground"

    And the actual lines about the "New Train" itself,

    "Cause you'll be leaving on a new train/
    Far away from this world of pain/
    And when you look out your window you'll see/
    Your home your baby and your family"

    Or perhaps I just enjoy the song so much because I really love the bass line which runs through the entire song.

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    Veteran Member italianbeauty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    I am such a fan of modest mouse, their lyrics especially. The song "Ocean Breathes Salty" fits into the 'afterlife' category.


    "Well that is that and this is this
    You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
    You get away from me. You get away from me
    Collected my belongings and I left the jail
    Well thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell
    I had to think awhile. I had to think awhile

    Well that is that and this is this
    Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed,
    when the ocean met the sky
    You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye
    When the earth folded in on itself
    And said "Good luck, for your sake I hope heaven and hell
    are really there, but I wouldn't hold my breath"
    You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?
    You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?

    The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?
    In your head, and in your mouth, in your soul
    The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind
    Well I don't mind. I don't mind. How the heck could I mind?

    Well that is that and this is this
    You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get
    You get away from me. You get away from me

    Well that is that and this is this
    Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed,
    when the ocean met the sky
    You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?"

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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    in the afterlife
    You could be headed for the serious strife
    Now you make the scene all day
    But tomorrow therell be hell to pay

    People listen attentively
    I mean about future calamity
    I used to think the idea was obsolete
    Until I heard the old man stamping his feet.

    This is a place where eternally
    Fire is applied to the body
    Teeth are extruded and bones are ground
    Then baked into cakes which are passed around.

    Beauty, talent, fame, money, refinement
    Top skill and brain
    But all the things you try to hide
    Will be revealed on the other side.

    Now the d and the a and the m
    And the n and the a
    And the t and the i-o-n
    Lose your face, lose your name
    Then get fitted for a suit of flame

    -squirrel nut zippers, afterlife

    i like rockabilly....

  4. #4
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    Cool thread topic.

    The last song on Madonna's "Ray of Light" (Has To Be) is about resigning one's self to death. I don't have the CD booklet so I can't quote it other than how she composed the song is very memorable.

    "More Than This" by Roxy Music (also covered by Mary Ramsey & 10,000 Maniacs) can be interpreted as a song of resignation of this life.

    "Together Again" by Janet Jackson is a upbeat song about Heaven. It cheers me up.

    & The ultimate Mexican funeral tune, "Ceilito Lindo" (Pretty Little Sky) is an upbeat folk song played by mariachi bands to cheer the funeralgoers up.

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    Veteran Member Littlelo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    Old Souls by Faith and the Muse

    Its about soul mates and reincarnation. I get all mushy when I hear it. Its dark in tone, but very romantic in content.

    "Old souls last forever,
    so we need never fear goodbye.
    A kiss when I must go,
    no tears, in time,
    we'll kiss hello."

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    Veteran Member Snowles's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    I've always been a little nihilistic, myself. I absolutely love the song "A Question of Heaven" by Iced Earth. It's from their album "The Dark Saga" based on the Spawn comic series. It's not only about the afterlife but giving something for love only to lose that love in the end...something I'm sure most of us have felt before.

    The time is close now, the end is near
    My walk through the valley, trails of fear
    I feel empty, my penance overdue,
    I guess it's too late now to be with you
    I'm extremely frightened of what will surely be
    I sold myself, the death of me
    I know you can't forgive me I know I'm on my own,
    I've betrayed you I walk alone

    What exactly is the meaning of this
    Just pawns in your twisted game
    Severe pain for the lie I'm livin'
    For a love I never could betray

    [Bridge]
    Question me not say the lord unto thee
    You have chosen your own fate and your own destiny
    Denied of this life is what you are to be
    You have chosen your own fate and your own destiny

    Lord I pound my fists at you
    Won't you just let me die
    Would I not suffer enough
    No inner peace no after life

    [Repeat Bridge]

    I did what I thought was right
    All for the love of my life
    I know it's sad but true
    Something is very wrong
    Condemned to suffer so long
    For a love so true

    The question that lies within
    Is so hard to understand
    It still tears at me
    And in my dying breath
    My heart holds no regrets
    I wouldn't change a thing

    My spirit begins to rise to the heavenly skies
    Just to be shunned away by you
    Now all I want is to die, no streets of gold in the sky
    And I wash my hands of you

    [Bridge]
    Rising to the heaven's light
    Just to plead for death
    Just to be denied

    Rising to the heaven's light
    Just to plead for death
    Just to be denied

    Ooohhh, I know you can't forgive me
    I know I'm on my own
    I know that I've betrayed you
    You know I walk alone
    You know I walk alone

    I walk, I walk the trail of fear
    I pound my fists at you
    I'm shunned away by you
    I wash my hands of you

    Why won't you let me die
    Why won't you let me die
    Why won't you let me die
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob_Loblaw View Post
    As a side note, I'd love to be able to order a naked, writhing slut muffin from Tim Horton's.

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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    "You'll Be There"...a country song by George Strait. Beautiful, beautiful song.

    Hope is an anchor, and love is a ship
    Time is the ocean and life is a trip
    You don't know where you're going
    Til you know where you're at
    And if you can't read the stars
    Well you better have a map
    A compass and a conscience
    so you don't get lost at sea
    Or on some lonely island that no one wants to be

    From the beginning of creation, I think our maker had a plan
    For us to leave these shores and sail beyond the sand
    And let the good light guide us to the waves and the wind
    To the beaches and a world where we have never been
    And we'll climb upon a mountain, y'all we'll let our voices ring
    Those who've never tried they'll be the first to sing

    CHORUS:
    Woah My My
    I'll see you on the other side
    If I make it
    And it might be a long hard ride
    But I'm gonna take it
    Sometimes it seems that I don't have a prayer
    Let the weather take me anywhere
    But I know that I wanna go
    Where the streets are gold
    Cause you'll be there

    Oh my my

    You don't bring nothing with you here
    And you can't take nothing back
    I ain't never seen a hearse, with a luggage rack
    So I've torn my knees from praying
    Scarred my back from falling down
    Spent so much time flying high, til I'm face first in the ground
    So if you're up there watching me, would you talk to God and say,
    Tell him I might need a hand to see you both someday

    Repeat Chorus

    Cause you'll be there

    Oh my my



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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    I also like Bone Thugs n' Harmony's, "Crossroads."



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    Veteran Member Snowles's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    Don't worry, Mileia, I loved that song when it first came out, and I still do today.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob_Loblaw View Post
    As a side note, I'd love to be able to order a naked, writhing slut muffin from Tim Horton's.

  10. #10
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: Do you have a favorite song about the afterlife?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mileia777 View Post
    I also like Bone Thugs n' Harmony's, "Crossroads."
    You're not the first person to say that...

    I can't believe I forgot to throw in Paul Westerberg's "Looking Up In Heaven"!!!

    & They Might Be Giants "You Will Miss Me" (they have several Dada-ish songs about death & the afterlife, it takes some work to figure them out.)

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