A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young

Album: The Outsiders (2014)
Charted: 89
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Co-written with "Hell on the Heart" collaborator Jeremy Spillman, this sparse acoustic ballad finds Church mulling over reaching the second half of his thirties and outliving both Jesus and Hank Williams. "You look in the mirror for the first time and there's a couple gray hairs around your temple and you think back to when you were 25," he told Billboard magazine. "I didn't think I'd live long enough to have gray hair. We've been doing this for awhile. Fans have been growing with me. I'm not afraid of the fact that I'm 36. I'm proud."
  • This is one of the most honest tunes that Church has ever written. He told Radio.com: "That song talks about turning 36, it talks about finding your first gray hairs. And the honesty there - I think too many people, if you are 46 you want to look 36, and if you're 36 you want to look 26. I didn't want to do that. I've earned the gray hairs. So I wanted to show that level of honesty."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Penny Ford of Snap!

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.