If you were in schools during the 2010s, then you know the chokehold “If I Die Young” by the Band Perry had on the youth the moment it came out. I was in one of my Country phases at this time…lmao I’m always listening to Country actually and was living in the South on top of my predisposition for folksy-tunes, and this song went triple platinum on my phone. It seemed like The Band Perry appeared out of nowhere and dropped thee song of the youth, then dipped never to be heard again.

In fairness, I don’t follow artists as closely as I could, and I especially didn’t follow artists like I do now, back then. I was happy enough to have the perfect Country-Emo bop to sing at the top of my lungs and sob to thinking about all the other teens in the world taking the song to heart. It’s a song everyone wanted played at their funeral in the case of their untimely death. It’s a song I thought of many times over the past few years, as Covid became something all young ppl felt was just another ploy to endanger our lives thanks to the carelessness of people who we’re told to look up to and respect.

If I Die Young, felt like a protest song to me. It’s something I defiantly sang loud and proud. I didn’t actually want to die. That sort of depression wasn’t really my thing as a kid. But I could relate to wanting to do something drastic to get people to realise how ridiculous and hypocritical they are. The song felt ironic and too real to how many of my friends felt and I could see younger kids would also feel. Maybe if we all just dropped dead adults would finally do something about all the things killing us. If we just cut out the middleman and do it ourselves, that would show them.

Every time I hear the song I’m taken back to those days. If you’ve followed my other blogs over the years, I’m sure you’d have an idea of what teen me was like. XD She was a trip. Very intense and prone to extremes, but what’s youth for if not exploring the dramatic in life?

Recently Kimberly Perry from The Band Perry released a second part to the iconic song. Once again, proving the cosmic perfect timing of song writers. The second part to the song calls back to the attitude of the past narrator and lovingly, if a bit sardonically reflects on how they’ve changed their stance since. It’s almost an apology to their younger self, “Sorry for the angst, I’m actually really happy I didn’t die so young after all. I’ve found so much to live for since!”

Age changes so much. We often look back on things we enjoyed as children and can’t help but shake our heads and laugh at the direness of it all. Everything seems so great and insurmountable as a child. Your highs seem mountainous, and lows feel like trenches. You have nothing to compare it to, nor the wisdom to understand it.

Growing up is so hard, many people seemingly find themselves stuck at certain ages. Aging is harder for some than others, with so many trials and blocks coming in the way of people becoming the best them they can be.

Personally I’m someone who believes no one is here by accident. In the grand scheme of things, of course. I think everyone has a purpose. Not all world altering, but in life it is the small moments that make it worth living, so it’s those so-called nobodies who really make our time on Earth worth the experience.

I do believe If I Die Young (part 2) is a song that shows us how we give meaning to our own lives. That’s how we survive the seemingly unsurvivable. We plant the roses we want to smell, why wait for our own funeral, which we won’t even get the chance to enjoy?

Like Ms. Perry (I assume), I also had a change of heart as I grew older and grew past my dark days. It does get easier with time. I like to think of different times of your life as seasons. That’s a common way of viewing life I enjoy. We can’t have a good Summer without sometimes a harsh Winter. Spring eases us into Summer, but it’s no less important, bringing us to the harvest of Autumn thanks to all we sowed then. Everything has a rhyme and reason, even when we don’t always see the purpose. Sometimes even what has no purpose, can be given purpose. It’s all about how we choose to interpret our world and what happens in it.

I’ll definitely be playing the mess out of this new song. It’s just as enjoyable to listen too and is just as impactful as the last.