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Rock
singer Billy Joel made the line famous, "only the good die
young." He certainly isn't the only one singing that tune.
Queen, Iron Maiden, and lesser knowns such as Visage, each have songs
with a similar title, while deathrock group 45 Grave used it as an
album title. 6 Multitudes echo their
refrain in regards to hosts of topics, as shown by a quick web search
of the phrase. Simply put, they've bought into a lie.
Rock music
has always sold its "sex, drugs and rock and roll" bill of
goods. Many of the artists have lived it to the full, trumpeting the
fame and fortune that professedly goes hand in hand. The witness of a
half century of artists now testifies to the truth. Live the life
they're selling and odds say you'll end up dead sooner. The news
headlines of this past week, "Study confirms rock stars more
likely to die young", shouldn't come as a surprise.
Living
fast and dying young has long been part of rock 'n' roll lore. And
now there are statistics that affirm the image... Researchers at
Liverpool John Moores University... studied a sample of North
American and British rock and pop stars and concluded they are more
than twice as likely to die a premature death as ordinary citizens of
the same age.
The team
studied 1,064 stars from the rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronic and
new age genres in the "All Time Top 1,000" albums published
in 2000. They compared each artist's age at death with that of
European and U.S. citizens of similar backgrounds, sex and ethnicity.
Mark
Bellis, leader of the study, said his research showed the stereotype
of rock stars was true - recreational drugs and alcohol-fueled
parties take a toll.
The report
found that, between two and 25 years after the onset of fame, the
risk of death was two to three times higher for music stars than for
members of the general population matched for age, sex, nationality
and ethnic background. (Article "Study confirms rocks stars more
likely to die young", The Tennessean, AP, by Tariq Panja,
September 6, 2007) 1
The Bible
warned us of this effect long before this survey helped to confirm it...
Galatians
6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he
sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that
nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (NIV) 2
Statistics
don't lie: the death rate in America, and the world, is still
unchanged... 100% are terminal; everyone dies. While there's no
guarantee that anyone will live even another day, there are
consequences to sin. Generally speaking, the more sinful the
lifestyle the more probable that you reap those results sooner. Even
those who think they have escaped all responsibility for their sinful
acts in this life will appear before a just and righteous Judge in
the next.3 Only those who have been
forgiven of all their sins, through faith in Jesus Christ, will be
granted eternal life.4 All others
enter into eternal damnation, also called the second death.5
Contrast eternity with anything short of it. While it'll never make a
good song title, this statement is true: "Only the wicked die
young." In view of eternity, the righteous, made so solely by
the efforts and merit of Christ, will never die! |
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End
Notes:
1.
Published articles included additional information on the nature and
type of deaths studied. While alcohol and drug abuse factored highly,
a majority were from other causes. Certainly suicide
would have been a significant percentage.
In all,
100 of the stars studied [out of 1064] had died - 7.3 percent of
women and 9.6 percent of men. They included Elvis Presley, Jim
Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The average age
of death was 42 for North American stars and 35 for European stars.
(Article "Study confirms rocks stars more likely to die
young", The Tennessean, AP, by Tariq Panja, September 6, 2007)
Rock stars
-- notorious for their "crash and burn" lifestyles --
really are more likely than other people to die before reaching old
age. ... More than a quarter of all the deaths were related to drugs
or alcohol abuse, said the study in the Journal of Epidemial
Community Health. "The paper clearly describes a population of
rock and pop stars who are at a disproportionate risk of alcohol and
drug related deaths," said Mark Bellis, lead author of the
study. He said the study raised questions about the suitability of
using rock stars for public health messages such as anti-drug
campaigns when their own lifestyle was so dangerous. (Article
"Rockstars die young..?", listed as a London "Bureau
Report", by Zeenews.com, September 4, 2007)
The
so-called "crash and burn" lifestyle isn't limited to the
music industry. Hollywood has created its fair share of similar
stars. Perhaps further studies will confirm what appears evident;
they too are reaping what they sow.
2.
Also...
Romans
8:13-14 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons
of God. (NIV)
3.
2
Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done
while in the body, whether good or bad. (NIV)
4.
Acts 10:43
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (NIV)
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
5.
Revelation
20:14-15 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The
lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (NIV)
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6.
To see how the message of "only the good die young" has
been sold through the music industry, these of the lyrics of the
aforementioned songs. All are copyright material and are provided
here only for critical examination under the fair use clause of the
copyright act.
Only
The Good Die Young
Artist:
Billy Joel
Come out
Virginia, don't let me wait
You
Catholic girls start much too late
aw But
sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as
well be the one
well, They
showed you a statue, told you to pray
They built
you a temple and locked you away
Aw, but
they never told you the price that you pay
For things
that you might have done.....
Only the
good die young
that's
what I said
only the
good die young x2
You might
have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't
too pretty we ain't too proud
We might
be laughing a bit too loud
aw But
that never hurt no one
So come on
Virginia show me a sign
Send up a
signal I'll throw you the line
The
stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets
in the sun
Darlin'
only the good die young
(woah x5 )
I tell ya
only the
good die young x2
You got a
nice white dress and a party on your confirmation
You got a
brand new soul
mmmm, And
a cross of gold
But
Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't
count on me
When you
were counting on your rosary
(oh woah woah)
They say
there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say
it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather
laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
the
Sinners are much more fun...
you know
that only the good die young
oh woah baby
I tell ya
only the
good die young, X2
You say
your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation
Aww She
never cared for me
But did
she ever say a prayer for me? oh woah woah
Come out
come out come out Virginia don't let me wait,
You
catholic girls start much too late
Sooner or
later it comes down to fate
I might as
well be the one,
You know
that only the good die young
I'm
telling you baby
You know
that only the good die young
Only the
good die young
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the
good die young
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the
good die young
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooo oooooooooo...
(Only the
good die young) x2
The next
song is the only new song created and recorded by the remaining three
members of the British rock band Queen after the death of lead singer
Freddie Mercury. While it is said that the impetus for the song was
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, it is also believed to be a
eulogy for Freddie Mercury himself, as one who died before his time.
No-One
But You (Only The Good Die Young)
Artist:Queen
A hand
above the water
An angel
reaching for the sky
Is it
raining in heaven -
Do you
want us to cry?
And
everywhere the broken-hearted
On every
lonely avenue
No-one
could reach them
No-one but you
One by one
Only the
Good die young
They're
only flying too close to the sun
And life
goes on -
Without you...
Another
Tricky Situation
I get the
drownin' in the Blues
And I find
myself thinkin'
Well -
what would you do?
Yes! - it
was such an operation
Forever
paying every due
Hell, you
made a sensation
You found
a way through
One by one
Only the
Good die young
They're
only flyin' too close to the sun
We'll
remember -
Forever...
And now
the party must be over
I guess
we'll never understand
The sense
of your leaving
Was in the
way it was planned?
And so we
dress another table
And raise
our glasses one more time
There's a
face at the window
And I
ain't never, never sayin' goodbye...
One by one
Only the
Good die young
They're
only flyin' too close to the sun
Cryin' for nothing
Cryin' for no-one
No-one but you
Only
The Good Die Young
Artist:
Iron Maiden
The demon
in your mind will rape you in your bed at night
The wisdom
of ages the lies and outrages concealed
Time it
waits for no man
My future
is revealed
Time it
waits for no man
My fate is sealed
If I
cancel tomorrow the undead will thank me today
Fly in the
space of your prophets I mock your morality plays
The moon
is red and bleeding
The sun is
burned and black
The book
of life is silent
No turning back
Only the
good die young
All the
evil seems to live forever
Only the
good die young
All the
evil seems to live forever
Only the
good die young
Only the
good die young
Mystery
madman a victim of cruel charade
Some
innocent pawn in an end game one more stalemate
Is death
another birthday?
A way to
kiss your dreams goodbye?
Do the
undead live within us?
And look
through our eyes?
Walking on
water are miracles all you can trust
Measure
your coffin does it measure up to your lust
So I think
Ill leave you
With your
bishops and your guilt
So until
the next time
Have a
good sin
Only the
good die young
All the
evil seems to live forever
Only the
good die young
All the
evil seems to live forever
Only the
good die young
Only the
good die young
Seven
deadly sins
Seven ways
to win
Seven holy
paths to hell
Seven
downward slopes
Seven
bloodied hopes
Seven are
your burning fires
Seven you desires...
Visage
- Only The Good (Die Young)
Artist: Visage
A blade in
the back, don't please attack
A knife in
your back, won't fight back
A blade in
our back, go go attack
A knife in
your back, please fight back
Harder
they come run boy run
Fight
fight stand by your rights
He's too
young to die, he hopes but still tries
And that
what a rebel cried
Chorus:
Only the
good die young
Only the
good die young
Survive
staying alive
Alive we
will survive
Only the
good die young
Crawl into
a coffin six feet in the ground
Down down
don't want him around
Don't
break his bones find he's not stone
You know
you'll never hurt him
Stronger
they come they think they have
But no
they haven't killed him
Life
without time, that just a crime
A life
time without mercy
You said
to achieve it's not just a dream
But the
good die young
Chorus
Fade...
The last
referenced group, 45 Grave, didn't have a song with this
title; rather it was the title of a complete album. The included song
titles on the deathrock (or Gothic) "Only The Good Die
Young" also speak volumes...
1.
Insurance from God, 2. Take Five, 3. Bad Love, 4. My Type, 5. Dream
Hits, 6. Consumers, 7. Sheila, 8. Sorceress, 9. Death March, 10.
Journey's End, 11. F***ed by the Devil, 12. Evil, 13. Partytime, 14.
Black Cross, 15. Wax, 16. Akira Raideen. |
