And When I Die - Wikipedia

1969 single by Blood, Sweat & Tears

"And When I Die"
Single by Blood, Sweat & Tears
from the album Blood, Sweat & Tears
B-side	"Sometimes in Winter"
Released	30 September 1969
Recorded	1968
Genre	Jazz rock
Length	4:06 (Album version)3:26 (Single version)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter	Laura Nyro
Producer	James William Guercio
Blood, Sweat & Tears singles chronology
"Spinning Wheel" (1969) "And When I Die" (1969) "Smiling Phases" (1969)

"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 1969. 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.[1] "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

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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."[2]

History

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"And When I Die" was the first song written by then-17 year old Laura Nyro.[3] She sold the song to folk group Peter, Paul and Mary for $5,000,[4] who recorded it 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 Hot 100; the album's previous two singles had also stalled at #2 on the same chart. The three singles each charted thirteen weeks on the Hot 100.

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

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Chart (1969)	Peakposition
Australia Kent Music Report[5]	4
Canada RPM Top Singles[6]	1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[7]	1
New Zealand (Listener) [8]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[9]	2
US Billboard Easy Listening[10]	4

Year-end Charts

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Chart (1969)	Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11]	4

Other versions

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• 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 closing credits of 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.[12] Childs and Krauss received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance for their version.
• UK punk band Amebix covered the song on their 1985 album Arise released on Alternative Tentacles records on the song The Darkest Hour

References

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1. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
2. ^ "And When I Die Lyrics". Song Meanings. 11 November 2006. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
3. ^ "Behind the Song: "And When I Die" by Laura Nyro". American Singwriter. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
4. ^ "Laura Nyro Biography". Biography.com. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
5. ^ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
6. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 13, 1969" (PDF).
7. ^ "RPM Top AC Singles - November 29, 1969" (PDF).
8. ^ https://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=753#n_view_location search Listener
9. ^ "And When I Die - Blood, Sweat & Tears". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 34.
11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6104." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
12. ^ Danton, Eric R. (July 15, 2014). "Alison Krauss Joins Billy Childs on Laura Nyro's 'And When I Die' (Exclusive)". WSJ. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

External links

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• Blood, Sweat & Tears lead singer David Clayton Thomas on YouTube singing the song in concert in 1976
• Laura Nyro on YouTube singing the song in Pittsburgh in 1994
• Peter, Paul & Mary on YouTube sing the song at the Sydney Opera House in 1970
• The Heavy's version on YouTube, used for the True Blood season 4 finale
• Sung a capella by members of the Student Society in Trondheim, Norway on YouTube (sung in English) in 2011

v t e Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter Yarrow Paul Stookey Mary Travers
Studio albums	Peter, Paul and Mary Moving In the Wind A Song Will Rise See What Tomorrow Brings The Peter, Paul and Mary Album Album 1700 Late Again Peter, Paul and Mommy No Easy Walk to Freedom In These Times
Compilation albums	The Best of Peter, Paul and Mary: Ten Years Together Songs of Conscience and Concern
Live albums	In Concert Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too
Singles	"Lemon Tree" "If I Had a Hammer" "Puff, the Magic Dragon" "500 Miles" "Blowin' in the Wind" "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" "Stewball" "Tell It on the Mountain" "The Times They Are a-Changin'" "When the Ship Comes In" "San Francisco Bay Blues" "Early Morning Rain" "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" "Too Much of Nothing" "Day Is Done" "Leaving on a Jet Plane"
Other songs	"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" "And When I Die" "Boa Constrictor" "El Salvador" "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" "This Land Is Your Land" "Light One Candle"
Related articles	Discography Albert Grossman

v t e Blood, Sweat & Tears
Dave Gellis Glenn McClelland Jon Ossman Carl Fischer Barry Danielian Charley Gordon Ken Gioffre Joel Rosenblatt Bo Bice Al Kooper Randy Brecker Jerry Weiss Fred Lipsius Dick Halligan Steve Katz Jim Fielder Bobby Colomby David Clayton-Thomas Lew Soloff Dave Bargeron Bobby Doyle Joe Henderson Lou Marini Jr. Larry Willis Georg Wadenius Jerry Fisher Tom Malone Ron McClure Luther Kent Jaco Pastorius Steve Khan Mike Stern Don Alias Roy McCurdy Barry Finnerty Neil Stubenhaus Gregory Herbert Steve Conte Dave Panichi Glenn McClelland Jerry Sokolov Franck Amsallem Ted Kooshian Dave Pietro Rob Paparozzi Jason Paige Bernard Purdie
Studio albums	Child Is Father to the Man Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 B, S & T; 4 New Blood No Sweat Mirror Image New City More Than Ever Brand New Day Nuclear Blues
Live albums	In Concert Live and Improvised Live
Compilation albums	Greatest Hits Found Treasures The Collection Super Hits Rare, Rarer & Rarest
Soundtracks	The Owl and the Pussy Cat
Singles	"You've Made Me So Very Happy" "Spinning Wheel" "And When I Die"
Related	Discography What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? (2023 film)

Authority control databases	MusicBrainz work