UPDATE: This song evolved soon after I recorded the original because of the slow demise of Nelson Mandela (he was very ill that year), it was sort of aimed at him being too old to die young, and, of course, he later died…old (in the December after I’d written this song). There were some other tweaks to the vocals later on and then on my 50th birthday, I scrapped the original vocals, de-mixed the tracks and recorded a new vocal and harmonies and then mixed it down again.
New version:
6th July 2013: This is another self-penned song* from yours truly with me on vox, guitars, bass and drum loops, it’s about time I formed a band, isn’t it? Anyway, weird lyrics, some of the common themes…not much science this time, unless you think of the bit about the Sun being (a) something vague about travelling to our nearest star (b) climate change (c) desertification. But, that would be just reverse engineering meaning into otherwise purely poetic words. Oh, actually 5th July is the date in 2013 when the Earth is farthest from the Sun in 2013…so going beyond the Sun would take ever so slightly longer than normal.
Too Old to Die Young
I don’t want to leave
Don’t want it to pass me by
Don’t think I found the answers in a lie
Too old to die young,
Too free to belong to anyone
Too late to be wrong
I know that I can face it
When I think about your rights
I know that I can take it
All the way up to the fight
Too far have I gone
Stepping miles without a smile for anyone
Stand beyond the sun
Too young for not trying
Too old to cry over dying
Staring back is that old setting sun
We’d live forever in the spring
The summer’s moving on, And everything
leads back to the fall
Too old to die young,
Too free to belong to anyone
Too right to be wrong
I don’t want to leave
Don’t want to pass it by
Don’t think I found an answer in a lie
No, I don’t think I found it in a lie
Don’t you think I found it?
Too free to be wrong,
Too young to hold on to anyone
Too old to die young
Yes, I think must be too old to die young
Don’t you think that I’m too old to die young?
Words and Music by David Bradley
*This is definitely not a cover of the Moe Bandy song, which I hadn’t even heard of until today. The major chord at the change was suggested by my friend Richard Perkins aka “Bath Guitar School” I’m sticking with the simple guitar solo rather than going after a more complex tonality.