"And When I Die" is a song written by American singer and songwriter

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

. It was first recorded by the folk group

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

in 1966. Nyro released her own version on her debut album ''

More Than a New Discovery ''More Than a New Discovery'' is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label. The name of th ...

'' in February 1967. The song is best known for the next version, recorded by the

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with "Somethin ...

"/"

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language *Something (concept) *Something, an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scott ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. "And When I Die" also reached No. 1 in Canada in December 1969 after 3 weeks at No. 2 also due to The Beatles.

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

for $5000, who then recorded the song for their sixth studio album ''

The Peter, Paul and Mary Album ''The Peter, Paul and Mary Album'', also known as ''Album'', is the sixth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1966 (see 1966 in music). Allmusic entry for ''Album 1700''.Accessed May 26, 2009 The 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 Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active from 1966 to 1982. The company was formed to produce portable musical instruments, and manufactured several electronic piano ...

, and the other featuring horns and

temple blocks Temple blocks are a type of percussion instrument consisting of a set of woodblocks. It is descended from the muyu, an instrument originating from eastern Asia, where it is commonly used in religious ceremonies. Description It is a carved h ...

, like a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

cowboy song. Also, the pauses between the choruses and the other two verses are longer than on the edited version.

Chart history

Year-end Charts

Other versions

*The song was also recorded by The Heavy. This version was used in the season four finale of ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

''. *The song was also played by

Joe 90 ''Joe 90'' is a 1968–1969 British science-fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of nine-year-old schoolboy Joe McC ...

in the horror movie ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was d ...

'' (2000). *

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an award-winning American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was sixteen he attended the Community School of the Performing ...

and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

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 The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards. It was first presented in 2015. The award was first approved by the board of trustees of the Grammy Awards in June 2014. According to NARAS, th ...

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

External links

* singing the song in concert in 1976 * singing the song in Pittsburgh in 1994 * sing the song at the Sydney Opera House in 1970 * , used for the ''True Blood'' season 4 finale * Sung a capella by members of the (sung in English) in 2011 {{authority control 1966 songs 1969 singles American soul songs Blood, Sweat & Tears songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs Laura Nyro songs Songs written by Laura Nyro Song recordings produced by James William Guercio Columbia Records singles Songs about death Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand