Born To Die | Y2G (2003)

I wrote the lyrics to this song during a time when I was severely depressed and suicidal. The story I tell is about how I observed my life at the age of 23 years old. It's ironic how at 23 I felt like I knew my whole life would end up in disappointment, pain, sadness and emptiness.

1994 was a tragic year for me - a year when I considered life to be too much to handle. In the darkness of my "abyss" I penned the words to this song. Even then, I knew the concept of the final song and that I would have to do all of the components - performing, production, arrangement, engineering, and distribution - before the song would be complete.

I would listen to my home-made demo of my lyrical performance done over various instrumentals. Over time, I wondered if it would become my "self-fulfilling prophecy" of sorts. Now I know it is a song that captures the turning point of my life with all of what I was thinking and feeling.

"This is the story of my life before knowing Jesus Christ/
This is how I saw things (We're All Born To Die)/
But I'm so glad that right now I know I was born to LIVE and not just die/
Thank you Lord for Your mercy and showing me LOVE/
'In The Name Of Jesus' is how we do it"

In the original lyrics, I used the "Riddle of the Sphinx" at the beginning as the basic framework in order to shape this story as more of a human tragedy. The Sphinx in Greek mythology was a unique demon of destruction and bad luck and would ask all passersby history's most famous riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled anyone unable to answer. Oedipus solved the riddle: man � he crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age.

* WARNING:
This track contains language, which may be considered offensive to some listeners. More specifically, I use the words "Hell" and "Damned" in a manner to express my thoughts.

vs 1 - "What in the Hell do we rejoice for?/"
With all of the apparent doom and gloom that surrounds this child in this life, it seems like it is "Hell on Earth."

vs 3 - "Damned, he looked around and there ain't no on he can turn to/"
In this context, I use the word "Damned" to mean "Condemned" in the literal sense.

Lyrics

A baby is born into a tragic situation/
No nation to call his own/
Nothin' but trouble's all he will be facin'/
But family and friends/
Have nothin' but smiles and grins/
But this little baby doesn't know the kind of mess he's in/
All he knows is what he sees/
He can't comprehend/
His birth as the beginning/
His death as the end/
Of a journey/
Far from peaceful/
With different people/
Tryin' to stomp him out/
Because they don't feel he is equal/
Plus the fact he is a Black male/
Which gives him more than a 50/50 chance of endin' up in jail/
So what in the hell do we rejoice for/
Because this life don't get no easier/
It intensifies as it goes..."bye"/
So why ask "Why?" when someone dies/
And why do so many people cry/
It's all because they fail to realize/
We're all Born To Die/
We all gotta die.

Time passed/
He dodged the blasts that took his homies out/
Still mad/
Over a father/
He never even knew about/
He's 23/
You better believe he's had the time to see/
Just how difficult the stresses of this life can be/
No longer considered "cute"/
He's just a "brute"/
Just a Black man/
Out tryin'/
To get some honest loot/
Wearin' suits and ties/
And always tries/
His best/
To make it day by day/
Minimizin' all the stress/
He contemplates death/
Because he feels there's nothing left/
But his woman/
Always urges him to keep on takin' steps/
But he forgets/
And in his mind/
He starts to digress/
Only sees the negative/
Completely blind to all the progress/
He's made/
Taming the rage/
Inside of him is all he knows/
He doesn't seem to have much farther/
Before he loses all control/
He folds and cries/
But then he stops/
Because he realized/
We're all Born To Die/
We all gotta die.

An "old" man of 65/
It's a wonder that he's still alive/
Left with broken promises/
The pain he tries to hide/
His bride/
Of 40 years/
Passed away and left him lonely/
"Thanatos" was working overtime/
And also took his homies/
The past is all he has/
He's havin' trouble keepin' that/
His vision is all but gone/
His body barely can react/
In fact/
His "third leg" is now a cane out of his homeland/
It's funny/
When he was young/
He couldn't wait to be a grown man/
Damned/
He looks around and there ain't no one he can turn to/
No love inside of him/
Because the hatred all but burned through/
His heart/
It's cold as ice/
Still tryin' to give him life/
But the closer he gets to Death/
It's lookin' kinda nice/
He thought twice/
About havin' kids/
He thinks his choice was wise/
Looks back and sees/
That he was never fully satisfied/
Death comes/
The old man greets Him with a sigh/
No tears drop his eyes/
Because he realized/
We're all Born To Die!

Lyrics, copyright � 1994 Taurus M. James. All Rights Reserved.

MUSIC Type

vocal, instrumental, remix, a capella, minimal, sample flip

MUSIC Use Suggestions

exercise, fitness, running, dancing, party, background, commercial, advertisement, ads, road trip

MUSIC Tempo

94bpm (Medium 81bpm - 110bpm)

MUSIC Themes

world, international, wild west, nature, horror, relation, shopping, fashion, party, sports, 1920s, american history, tropical, kids, sci-fi, technology, 1960s, biker, punks, high class, , religious, holidays, farm, rural, fantasy, movies, christmas, entertainment, showbix, 1950s, places, 1970s, education, action, mystery, crime, las vegas, 1980s, martial arts, runnung, fitness, driving, road trips

MUSIC Moods

abstract, repetitive, robotic, mechanical, scientific, futuristic, sparse, atmospheric, ambient, dreamy, elegant, graceful, ethereal, heavenly, hypnotic, lush, magical, panoramic, pastoral, shimmering, swirling, trippy, builds, grows, busy, catchy, dramatic, adventurous, angry, dangerous, dark, eerie, haunting, evil, sinister, fearful, mean, tough, mysterious, ominous, paranoid, scary, stealthy, strange, weird, suspenseful, uneasy, earthy, organic, emotional, anticipation, anxious, childlike, demure, disappointed, heartwarming, introspective, lonely, nostalgic, reflective, poignant, sentimental, thoughtful, energetic, aggressive, driving, lively, hi-energy, rowdy, urgent, wild, frantic, erotic, naughty, raunchy, sexy, fun, comical, humorous, drunken, whimsical, insistent, Positive, optimistic, bright, carefree, happy, joyful, inspirational, uplifting, satisfied, contented, upbeat, punchy, quirky, relaxed, laid back, lazy, peaceful, calm, romantic, passionate, sensual, tender, sad, depressing, melanchoiy, melodramatic, strong, anthemic, bold, confident, determined, epic, majestic, noble, dignified, patriotic, powerful, sophisticated, victorious

INSTRUMENTS

brass, bugle, french horn, trombone, trumpet, tuba, horn section, big bamd, brass band, drumline, marching band, rock band, symphonic band, drums, percussion, guitar, bass, world guitar, lute, dulcimer, keyboard, harpsichord, organ, piano, orchestra, hits, stabs, reeds, woods, wooswinds, accordion, bassoon, clarinet, english horn, flute, oboe, piccolo, recorder, saxophone, badpipes, didgeridoo, duduk, strings, cello, celtic harp, fiddle, harp, pissicato, viola, violin, upright bass, string section, synth, synthisizer, vocal, a capella, beat box, chikd, chanting, choir, gregorian chant, opera, scat, male, female, vocoder, whispering