"If the Good Die Young" is a song written by
Craig Wiseman and Paul Nelson, and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
artist
Tracy Lawrence. It was released in January 1994 as the fourth and last single from his album ''
Alibis''. In April of that year, it became that album's fourth consecutive Number One hit, reaching the top spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart.
Content
The song is an up-tempo accompanied by
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
. It describes a rebellious male character who claims that he will "live forever if the good die young".
Music video
The song's
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
was filmed at
Charlotte Motor Speedway and features footage of
NASCAR drivers, including dedication to both
Alan Kulwicki and
Davey Allison who had been killed in off-track incidents in 1993. Lawrence drove a
Chevrolet Lumina with his name on it in the video.
Chart positions
"If the Good Die Young" debuted at number 64 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of February 5, 1994.
Year-end charts
References
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1994 singles
1993 songs
Tracy Lawrence songs
Songs written by Craig Wiseman
Song recordings produced by James Stroud
Atlantic Records singles
Songs written by Paul Nelson (songwriter)