Good die young
http://www.nation.lk/edition/lifestyle/item/17560-the-good-die-young.html
HE WAS A HUSBAND TO A very patient and kindhearted lady. He was a father to a six month old boy. He was also a soldier. He carried a gun right to the battlefields and he survived the war. He may have watched people he loved as friends or brothers, drop like flies as bullets pierced their hearts. He survived it all. Yet, he couldn’t escape death. A blood clot took him to a grave no one had even planned of digging for him, before he even turned forty. He was a man his family depended on, a man his wife’s family had begun to love as their own. He worked hard to build a home for his wife and child, and even before it could be given the final touches, he died. He is a man that adds truth to the phrase, “only the good die young.”
When talking about the dead, those who died of some illness, at the battlefield, having drunk themselves to death or just being in the wrong place, people would say, “Oh he was in his forties, but that’s no age to die!”
Yet, is there an age to die?
Heath Ledger, an impressive actor who starred in many movies including the heartbreaking Brokeback Mountain and the much loved The Dark Knight didn’t live to be 29. We can only imagine the performances the world is deprived of due to his death.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/lifestyle/item/17560-the-good-die-young.html
Keith Urban, lead singer of Nirvana died at 27. He wrote in his final letter, “It’s better to burn out than fade away.” River Phoenix, who starred with Keanu Reeves in My Own Private Idaho left the world in 1993, at the age of 23. Even Michael Jackson, who shook the world with great songs, was too young to die at 50.
The list of course, goes on. Looking back at what Billy Joel sang, only the good die young. Maybe none of these people were exactly good, yet, nor were they bad. It is not by birth that people are good or bad, there are in fact no good people or bad people. This was said by someone who has a way with words. It is easy to agree with it though. The men and women who breathe no more, may not have been good people. Yet, they were certainly too young to die.
Everyman is a play that clearly shows death respects no one. There is also a dark joke, where Death visits a man, saying his name was next on the list. The man pleads with Death to give him more time, and goes on to treat Death like a king. Having enjoyed a great meal, Death is asleep. The man then erases his name from the top of the list Death carried with him, and writes it at the very end. The next day Death wakes up and thanks the man for his hospitality and as a reward Death promises to instead start at the bottom of the list.
So, does age distance us from that inevitable end? Are we for a moment able to think, “Oh! I’m only a teenager, I have years ahead of me!” We can’t afford to think like that, and yet we do. This is why when a 90 year old lady, who has seen the world dies, it comes as no surprise to people. However, the death of even a 50 year old is shocking as he is simply too young to die.
The song Knocking on Heaven’s Door is as heartbreaking a song the world would hear about soldiers. These are men who were good, who were brave and who put the lives of others before their own. The soldier mentioned before made a promise to visit his family soon. And yet, that promise is useless now, for only the good die young.
HE WAS A HUSBAND TO A very patient and kindhearted lady. He was a father to a six month old boy. He was also a soldier. He carried a gun right to the battlefields and he survived the war. He may have watched people he loved as friends or brothers, drop like flies as bullets pierced their hearts. He survived it all. Yet, he couldn’t escape death. A blood clot took him to a grave no one had even planned of digging for him, before he even turned forty. He was a man his family depended on, a man his wife’s family had begun to love as their own. He worked hard to build a home for his wife and child, and even before it could be given the final touches, he died. He is a man that adds truth to the phrase, “only the good die young.”
When talking about the dead, those who died of some illness, at the battlefield, having drunk themselves to death or just being in the wrong place, people would say, “Oh he was in his forties, but that’s no age to die!”
Yet, is there an age to die?
Heath Ledger, an impressive actor who starred in many movies including the heartbreaking Brokeback Mountain and the much loved The Dark Knight didn’t live to be 29. We can only imagine the performances the world is deprived of due to his death.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/lifestyle/item/17560-the-good-die-young.html
Keith Urban, lead singer of Nirvana died at 27. He wrote in his final letter, “It’s better to burn out than fade away.” River Phoenix, who starred with Keanu Reeves in My Own Private Idaho left the world in 1993, at the age of 23. Even Michael Jackson, who shook the world with great songs, was too young to die at 50.
The list of course, goes on. Looking back at what Billy Joel sang, only the good die young. Maybe none of these people were exactly good, yet, nor were they bad. It is not by birth that people are good or bad, there are in fact no good people or bad people. This was said by someone who has a way with words. It is easy to agree with it though. The men and women who breathe no more, may not have been good people. Yet, they were certainly too young to die.
Everyman is a play that clearly shows death respects no one. There is also a dark joke, where Death visits a man, saying his name was next on the list. The man pleads with Death to give him more time, and goes on to treat Death like a king. Having enjoyed a great meal, Death is asleep. The man then erases his name from the top of the list Death carried with him, and writes it at the very end. The next day Death wakes up and thanks the man for his hospitality and as a reward Death promises to instead start at the bottom of the list.
So, does age distance us from that inevitable end? Are we for a moment able to think, “Oh! I’m only a teenager, I have years ahead of me!” We can’t afford to think like that, and yet we do. This is why when a 90 year old lady, who has seen the world dies, it comes as no surprise to people. However, the death of even a 50 year old is shocking as he is simply too young to die.
The song Knocking on Heaven’s Door is as heartbreaking a song the world would hear about soldiers. These are men who were good, who were brave and who put the lives of others before their own. The soldier mentioned before made a promise to visit his family soon. And yet, that promise is useless now, for only the good die young.
Comments
Post a Comment