Songfacts®:

• Written by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay and keyboardist Toby Smith, this anti-war song received little daytime airplay upon its debut but somehow managed to land at #15 on the UK charts. It eventually peaked at #10.
• Jay Kay places the success of this song squarely on the shoulders of the listening public, not the record label (Sony) or the media. He told The Melody Maker: "The point is that Jamiroquai isn't a record company product. It's people power that has put 'Too Young To Die' in the Top 20. That's why I'm not bothered about the media attention we're getting now. I know we can live up to it. If we couldn't, I'd be sh----ing my pants."
• Fitting in with the environmentally conscious Emergency on Planet Earth album, this song transcends its anti-war message and encourages compassion for the earth and all its beings. Jay Kay explained to The Melody Maker:
  
  "'Too Young To Die' is an anti-war song, yeah, but it's not just about people. It's about all forms of life - the animals, the trees, the planet itself. They're all too young to die. But that's exactly what's gonna happen if we don't start treating the world properly. You'd better believe it, man."
• The original version of this song clocks in at 10:18 but was cut down to 3:22 for the single and 6:05 for the album, though the original vinyl version contains the full track.