Dead Don't Die

Album: Planet Zero (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • Showcasing powerful drums and scorching, unbridled guitar solos, "Dead Don't Die" is a stirring tribute to resilience in the face of adversity.

    I'm never running, so try it again
    Started me over right back at the end
    "When's the last time you were afraid?"
    "I haven't been afraid a day in my life"


    The song celebrates the defiant, unbreakable spirit of humanity during challenging times.
  • Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith, bassist Eric Bass, and guitarist Zach Myers wrote "Dead Don't Die" alongside Nashville-based songwriters Blair Daly and Zac Maloy. Myers penned the original demo. "'Dead Don't Die' is the first song I think any of us had ever brought in completed that really didn't go through some sort of major change," he said. "Truly one of the greatest feelings I've had in this band."
  • Myers wrote the rousing, stomping anthem about Brent Smith and people like him. "The strong-willed, refuse to give up, bend but never break human spirit," he explained. "I've seen this man be at the bottom before, and pick himself up, and never stop trying to be better. I hope everyone feels something when they listen to it. I hope it makes you feel like you can run through a brick wall."
  • Shinedown released "Dead Don't Die" as the third single from Planet Zero on January 17, 2023. The band composed and recorded the album at Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina. Eric Bass produced and mixed it, just as he had done with their previous release, Attention Attention, which came out in 2018.
  • Director Lewis Cater shot the song's music video at The Crossness Pumping Station in London. It's the first Shinedown visual shot outside the US.

    The video conveys the song's message using visuals reminiscent of an action movie. 'Almost an homage to John Wick," Smith commented to Under The Radar. Smith also admired London's stunning architecture, praising it in glowing terms.

Comments: 1

  • Aj from OhioWho voices the "When was the last time you were afraid?" and the "I haven't been afraid a day in my life"? To me, it sounds like a movie quote that they sampled. Is it?
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