A Lifetime

Album: Closer (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song tells the story of a girl named Ally who dies on her graduation day. At her wake, her friends steal her ashes and take them to the beach, knowing that's what she would have wanted.

    This story is based on the tale of Gram Parsons, a mythic figure who was a member of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. After he died at age 26, two men dressed in black showed up in a hearse at Los Angeles International Airport and claimed his body, which was going to be shipped to his father. They took the body to the Joshua Tree forest and burned it in the desert, fulfilling what they claimed was Parsons' directive.
  • In our interview with Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin, he explained: "This started with the idea, and it was personal. And then taking it to a whole crazy place about taking an urn with some friends and taking the ashes of a friend and spreading them out on the beach as the sun's coming up."
  • Regarding the lyrics, "That R.E.M. song was playing in my mind, and three-and-a-half minutes felt like a lifetime," Kevin Griffin told us that the song he had in mind was "Perfect Circle," from their 1983 album Murmur. Both that song and "A Lifetime" run almost exactly 3:30.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."