The Days That We Die

Album: Older Than My Old Man Now (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Loudon Wainwright III has four children, and all of them appear on his 2012 album Older Than My Old Man Now. On "The Days That We Die," he duets with his son Rufus Wainwright, who like his dad is also an accomplished musician and actor.

    The Wainwrights have a long history of communicating with each other in their songs, and in this one Loudon and Rufus agree that their relationship is one of immutable acceptance, which each of them singing the line, "You'll never change, neither will I."
  • Loudon wrote this song, but Rufus came up with the arrangement. In our interview with Loudon, he explained: "Usually when you record a song with somebody, a duet, you sing some harmony together or join in on the bridge or whatever, but he thought it might be more interesting to just sing separately in the same song, and I think he was right."
  • This song was used in the 2012 Judd Apatow movie This is 40. Wainwright is an Apatow favorite: the director had Loudon record songs for his 2007 movie Knocked Up and his 2005 film The 40 Year Old Virgin.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"They're Playing My Song

As a songwriter and producer, Narada had hits with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Starship. But what song does he feel had the greatest impact on his career?

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.