Dead by Korn - Songfacts

Album: Issues (1999)

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In this 1:12 musical oddity, Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis whispers the phrase "all I want in life is to be happy" as his bandmates sing this stanza:

It seems funny to me
How f--ked things can be
Every time I get ahead
I feel more dead

Davis explained: "'All I want in life is to be happy,' it's that simple. People say that it's become their own anthem. It's like whenever I start to feel good, something comes and takes it away and I feel like I'm nothing again, like I'm dead."
"Dead" is one of the Korn songs that incorporates bagpipes played by Jonathan Davis. They provide a continuous drone through the song, playing under a simple drumbeat.
"Dead" is the first track on Issues, the fourth Korn album. By this time, they had a huge fanbase that was going to buy the album no matter what. It debuted at #1 in America, selling about 600,000 copies the first week of release. This was a time when album sales in general were peaking, and they cost about $16. Korn's label, Immortal, made a lot of money from the band.
Korn played this song live just once: At the Apollo Theater in New York City on November 15, 1999, backed by the NYPD Pipes & Drums. It was the opening song of their set, which served as a preview of the album, which dropped the next day.

Comments: 7

Zero from The Abyss, NjThe lyrics are:

All I want in life is to be happy, happy.

It seems funny to me
how f--ked things can be.
Every time I get ahead,
I feel more dead.

Jon has also claimed the lyrics were, "Every time I get h--d, I feel more dead."
Mike from Lasalle, OnAwesome song, Issues was Korn's best album IMO.
A.w. from Wichita, Ksthanks for stating the obvious keri so we can all understand
Keri from Dahlonega , GaI don't think Jonathan is talking about actually being closer to death or being dead he is talking about emotionally feeling dead.
Fatal from Aurora, Cothe title speaks for itself. it's about wanting to be happy. it's like no matter how far you get in life, youre only getting closer to death with every passing second.
Danielle from NorthumberlandI believe the live version of this at the Apollo was great, with the NYPD playing the drums and bagpipes
James from Victoria, CanadaOpening track to Issues; it's pretty good.

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