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And When I Die
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Wikipedia article
"'And When I Die'" is a song written by American singer and songwriter Laura Nyro. It was first recorded by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. Nyro released her own version on her debut album 'More Than a New Discovery' in February 1967.
The song is best known for the next version, recorded by the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears in late 1968. This recording reached No. 2 on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100 and became a Gold record. In the US, it was kept from #1 by the double A-side "Come Together"/"Something" by The Beatles. "And When I Die" also reached No. 1 in Canada, in December 1969.
Lyrics
The song gives a positive outlook about death, stating, in the chorus, "And when I die / and when I'm gone / there'll be one child born, in this world / to carry on / to carry on."
History
"And When I Die" was one of the first songs recorded by Nyro, when she was 17 years old. She then sold the song to folk group Peter, Paul and Mary for $5000, who then recorded the song for their sixth studio album 'The Peter, Paul and Mary Album'.
The song appeared on the self-titled second album by Blood, Sweat & Tears. It was the third single from the album, peaking at #2 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100; the album's previous two singles had also stalled at #2 on the same chart.
The BS&T arrangement is very different from previous versions. It was also released as an album version and an edited single version. The album version features two instrumental portions, one featuring an RMI Electra Piano, and the other featuring horns and temple blocks, like a western cowboy song. Also, the pauses between the choruses and the other two verses are longer than on the edited version.
Chart history
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1969)
!Peak
position
|-
|Australia Kent Music Report
|align="center"|4
|-
|Canada 'RPM' Top Singles[http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6092&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6092.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6092 RPM Top Singles, October 11, 1969]
|align="center"|1
|-
|Canada 'RPM' Adult Contemporary[http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6062&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6062.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6062 RPM Adult Contemporary, December 6, 1969]
|align="center"|1
|-
|New Zealand Singles Chart
|align="center"|1
|-
|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|align="center"|2
|-
|US 'Billboard' Easy Listening
|align="center"|4
|-
|}
Other versions
*The song was also recorded by The Heavy. This version was used in the season four finale of 'True Blood'.
*The song was also played by Joe 90 in the horror movie 'Final Destination' (2000).
*Billy Childs and Alison Krauss contributed a version of the song for Childs's 2014 album 'Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro'. Childs and Krauss received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance for their version.
Popular culture
*A line from the song is sung at the end of season one, episode three in the 2016 series 'Van Helsing' when Doc, played by Rukiya Bernard, is healed and returned from a feral - zombie - state to a human state.
References
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