The Song You Hear Before You Die.

"Well I wonder which song they're gonna play when we go.
I hope it's something quiet and minor and peaceful and slow.
When we float out into the ether, into the Everlasting Arms...
...Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over?
Did you hear your favorite song one last time?"
- The Gaslight Anthem, "The '59 Sound"

I was listening to my MP3 player on the subway, as I often do on my way home from work, letting the music sweep through my head and clear the cobwebs out after a long day. Not thinking, just listening. And then some grim lyrics started to stab at my brain, making themselves difficult to ignore. It was the above mentioned lyrics from The Gaslight Anthem's "The '59 Sound," which begs the question: what do you hear just before you die?

When you see the clouds part and a bright light floods your vision, the warm embrace of the afterlife severing your connection to the world, is it nothing but silence? The optimistic part of me wants to believe that everyone has the choice of what they hear before departing. A pre-death playlist, if you will. You get to hear one--maybe two--songs of your choosing, so that like a movie soundtrack, your life receives the perfect sonic conclusion. A musical summarization.

Disregarding the obvious--which would include preferential hints on which way you want to go, such as "Stairway to Heaven" or "Highway to Hell"--the decision would be tough. What's the last song you'd want to hear...ever? It really sheds light on the type of music that is important to a person. I mean, would you really want to hear Weezer's "Buddy Holly" or Kanye's "Gold Digger" if it was going to be the last thing you ever heard? Personally, if the theory that your life flashes before your eyes holds any water, I'd like to listen to something that would fit with that montage. Perhaps Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" could gently blend into Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" as my slideshow played out.

The more I think of it, though, the easier the decision becomes. I would want to hear the one song that could give me chills for the last time. The song that I could hear a thousand times on repeat without giving in to nausea. I'd want to hear "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters. Not only is it a fitting tune to float along with, but it's the greatest song I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. And as the credits roll on Jacob Trowbridge, I'd like "Everlong" to accompany me into the beyond.


This Entry In Music
Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
The Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound"

Be Back Soon,
Shaky Jake