If I Die Young
Click here to go to the lyrics for If I Die Young
| This song is likely the most recent of any of the songs chosen as examples, but it still does follow the same roots that all of the other songs have followed. In this song, a young girl speaks of what she wishes to have happen if she were to pass away at a young age.
By listening to the lyrics, there are clearly tones of religious faith in relation to death. In the first verse it is heard that the young girl asks: "Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother/She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colours." These show once again the theme of eternal life within country music, and it also shows the belief that once she has passed she will be safe in the hands of the Lord. This song also suggests that God has the ability to turn people into different things in order to support the ones that they have been separated from. (Ong) |
In the second verse, the listener hears the line "I'll be wearing white, when I come into your Kingdom." This line suggests the colour white to be the colour of innocence, as well as the colour that is worn in heaven. This idea of white being the colour of purity and peace, and therefore is understandable as the colour that one would wear in heaven. (Wikipedia)
Finally, in the last verse, we again get the feel of a religious space. Yet this time it is not specified as a church or graveyard. This time it just suggests a funeral of sorts, through the line "So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls/What I never did is done." This suggests that she has past and asks the boys to dress in their best clothing as she will be buried in her best attire as well. At the end of the song, the idea of peace and purity is once again mentioned through the line: "The ballad of a dove (uh oh)/ Go with peace and love." This line refers to white, as it is the colour of the dove but also because the dove has been considered to be a symbol of the Holy Spirit. (Wikipedia)
Finally, in the last verse, we again get the feel of a religious space. Yet this time it is not specified as a church or graveyard. This time it just suggests a funeral of sorts, through the line "So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls/What I never did is done." This suggests that she has past and asks the boys to dress in their best clothing as she will be buried in her best attire as well. At the end of the song, the idea of peace and purity is once again mentioned through the line: "The ballad of a dove (uh oh)/ Go with peace and love." This line refers to white, as it is the colour of the dove but also because the dove has been considered to be a symbol of the Holy Spirit. (Wikipedia)