"We're Only Gonna Die" is a song penned by frontman

Greg Graffin Gregory Walter Graffin (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the punk band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. He has also released three solo albums. Graffin obtained his PhD ...

for

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

's debut album, ''

How Could Hell Be Any Worse? ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on January 19, 1982, by Epitaph Records. Released almost a year after their self-titled EP, it was financed from the sales of the self t ...

'', which was released in 1982. It is the album's opening track, as well as the now-out of print ''

80–85 ''80–85'' is the first compilation album by Bad Religion, released in 1991. It is a collection of their early recordings, predating their third studio album, ''Suffer'' (1988), but excluding their controversial 1983 album, '' Into the Unknown'' ...

'' compilation, which was released in 1991. The song is often referred to only by the name "Gonna Die". The liner notes to the ''How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' album lists the title as "We're Only Gonna Die from Our Own Arrogance". Graffin occasionally introduces the song with this complete title. The band also called the song "Modern Man" before the release of their 1990 fifth album, '' Against the Grain'', which contained a track by that name. The lyrics and title show Graffin's early affinity for biology and evolutionary science. They refer to Richard Leakey and Robert Lewin's book ''Origins'', regarding the biological origin and demise of humanity. “To have arrived on this Earth … only to depart it through arrogance, would be the ultimate irony." The song can also be heard in the movie '' Glory Daze''. It also appears on the soundtrack of the videogame ''

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a 2005 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox i ...

''. More than 40 years after its release, "We're Only Gonna Die" is still a fan favorite and remains one of the band's concert staples.

Cover versions

The song was covered by the band

Biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect huma ...

, who called it "We're Only Gonna Die (From Our Own Arrogance)". Bad Religion and Biohazard played this song live together during a show in the late '90s. The

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band Sublime also covered this song, calling it "We're Only Gonna Die for Our Arrogance". After performing the cover live for several years, a studio version was recorded for their 1992 album, '' 40 Oz. to Freedom''. The song continued to be frequently included in their live set lists throughout their history. The

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Tripping Daisy Tripping Daisy is a neo-psychedelic pop rock band that was formed in Dallas, Texas, by lead singer/guitarist Tim DeLaughter in 1990 along with Jeff Bouck (drums), Wes Berggren (guitar) and Mark Pirro (bass). The group disbanded in 1999 fo ...

also covered "We're Only Gonna Die", as the closing track on their 1994 live album, '' Get It On - Live''.

References

Bad Religion songs 1982 songs Sublime (band) songs Songs written by Greg Graffin {{punk-song-stub