Songfacts®:

• Despite its title, this reflection on the human condition and mortality does not include an oboe. Instead there's a clarinet, which is played by guitarist Boz Boorer. His solo in the middle was done in one take.
• The song starts with a sample from mid 20th century British "dame comedian" Rex Jameson. Producer Joe Chiccarelli explained to Radio.com: "He had a character not unlike Dame Edna, it was called 'Mrs. Shufflewick.' Boz, or maybe Donnie the tour manager, had a bunch of videos of this guy's performances and we were all kind of obsessed with him. He was hilarious. He did this character for some time, maybe twenty years or more."
  
  "One day Moz decided to use it, and I remember him looking for this one particular line in the video. So, we cleared [the publishing on] it."