We're All Gonna Die

Album: released as a single (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • AJ Smith takes on mortality in this track, which he wrote with Jason Lane and his drummer, Dru Marshall. Smith explained: "A global pandemic, world war, recession, sentient AI around the corner, and so much more later, the existential dread and mental health struggles are at an all-time high. In one of my recent therapy sessions, my therapist brought up the latin phrase, 'memento mori' - remember that you die - and he challenged me to consider that the inevitability of death can create a sense of freedom rather than dread. My drummer and I started writing this song in the car, just tapping on the dashboard. And we conquered the phrase 'We're All Gonna Die' so that it's not sad, but rather triumphant. Just like the phrase memento mori, the song is simultaneously full of dread and hope, but in the end, it's a rather optimistic view, greeting the inevitability with open arms and saying, 'we're all gonna die, we just don't know when, let's make the most of the time that we got left.'"
  • The music video was shot at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, with Evan Deng directing. Seemingly role playing in different alternate realities, it becomes clear AJ is trapped, forced to continue experiencing climactic events that he eventually attempts to escape.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Who Did It First?

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Vince Clarke

Vince ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.