Live Until I Die
Encyclopedia
"Live Until I Die" is the title of a song written and recorded by American
country music singer Clay Walker
. It was released in October 1993 as the second single from his self-titled debut album.
The song reached the top of the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart.
, "My grandpa, who was her husband, is really who started all this off. He used to be a singer, Ernest Elbert Walker, `the Blues Man.' He played on a local radio station. He taught my dad and my uncle, and my dad and my uncle taught me.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times
Walker said, "I grew up in a rural area. My grandmother had an 84-acre tract of land outside the city limits. We had a farm with lots of animals. It was different than growing up downtown, where you might be riding a bicycle in the street and stuff like that. The part in 'Live Until I Die' where I talk about muddy roads and muddy feet--well, I walked those muddy roads. That song is very dear to me, in fact. It's like autobiography. I think everybody has one point in his life when he's a child or a teen-ager that he wishes he could go back to, and that's mine. Those memories are very fond memories to me."
During an interview with the San Angelo Standard-Times
Walker said, “I wrote a song, ‘Live Until I Die,’ — its about my life. We literally lived off the land, raised our own livestock, we hunted — there were very few things that were store-bought on our table. I learned accountability and responsibility early on in life. I remember in the wintertime, waking up at 5 a.m. and having ice in my rubber boots. I had to feed my animals before I could eat. I wouldn’t trade those values for the world.”
Walker revealed in Country Weekly
, "The song kind of wrote itself, there was no struggle at all. Melody and words all came to me at the same time, and I wrote it in one night. It was like I was on this road - and it was the right road the whole time." Walker also said, "I never really had confidence in my voice at that time. My goal was to pitch it to Randy Travis or Clint Black, because I wanted to get a cut, thinking that would lead to a record deal of my own."
Walker told SUCCESS
that he wrote the song when he was 17 and called the song "an autobiography put to music.” Walker also said, "I came from a poor family, and that poverty acted as my motivation to find a different way. Some people are happy with a little, but those who are not have the power to achieve all they can envision." When asked about if he had written a song about multiple sclerosis, Walker told United Press International
, "I have not specifically written a song about MS, but that is definitely an intention. I'm ready at this point to be able to put something in words that makes sense. There's a song that I wrote when I first came out and it's called "Live Until I Die." One of the lines in that song is "I don't worry about things that I can't change." I have to look at a mess and say, "I can't let this bother me, I can't let it conquer me."
wrote "Walker follows his No. 1 debut single, "What's It To You," with an uptempo testimony to the virtues of always staying the same. Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe listed "Live Until I Die" as the 127th best country single of the 1990s and wrote, "This is one of the few instances when the theme of celebrating a carefree life is set to a pretty melody and restrained production."
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart for the week of October 30, 1993. It reached Number One for the chart week of January 29, 1994 after twenty weeks on the chart, giving Clay his second consecutive Number One single. It also peaked at #1 on the RPM
Country Tracks charts in Canada.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music singer Clay Walker
Clay Walker
Ernest Clayton "Clay" Walker Jr. is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single "What's It to You," which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, as did its follow-up, 1994's "Live Until I Die." Both singles were included on...
. It was released in October 1993 as the second single from his self-titled debut album.
Clay Walker (album)
-Critical reception:Geoffrey Hines of The Washington Post wrote, "The impressive debut album by Clint Black mastermind James Stroud, reveals a young man still casting about for his own style but nonetheless bringing a handsome, personal tenor and a sure rhythmic instinct to every song he tries...
The song reached the top of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart.
Background
Walker revealed in American Cowboy that his grandmother became the inspiration for the song. After building her a house to live in and after she moved in Walker became inspired to write the song. Walker also stated in an interview with the Houston ChronicleHouston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
, "My grandpa, who was her husband, is really who started all this off. He used to be a singer, Ernest Elbert Walker, `the Blues Man.' He played on a local radio station. He taught my dad and my uncle, and my dad and my uncle taught me.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Walker said, "I grew up in a rural area. My grandmother had an 84-acre tract of land outside the city limits. We had a farm with lots of animals. It was different than growing up downtown, where you might be riding a bicycle in the street and stuff like that. The part in 'Live Until I Die' where I talk about muddy roads and muddy feet--well, I walked those muddy roads. That song is very dear to me, in fact. It's like autobiography. I think everybody has one point in his life when he's a child or a teen-ager that he wishes he could go back to, and that's mine. Those memories are very fond memories to me."
During an interview with the San Angelo Standard-Times
San Angelo Standard-Times
San Angelo Standard-Times is a daily newspaper based in San Angelo, Texas, USA, since 1884. It is owned by the newspaper group, The E.W. Scripps Company....
Walker said, “I wrote a song, ‘Live Until I Die,’ — its about my life. We literally lived off the land, raised our own livestock, we hunted — there were very few things that were store-bought on our table. I learned accountability and responsibility early on in life. I remember in the wintertime, waking up at 5 a.m. and having ice in my rubber boots. I had to feed my animals before I could eat. I wouldn’t trade those values for the world.”
Walker revealed in Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
, "The song kind of wrote itself, there was no struggle at all. Melody and words all came to me at the same time, and I wrote it in one night. It was like I was on this road - and it was the right road the whole time." Walker also said, "I never really had confidence in my voice at that time. My goal was to pitch it to Randy Travis or Clint Black, because I wanted to get a cut, thinking that would lead to a record deal of my own."
Walker told SUCCESS
SUCCESS (magazine)
SUCCESS is a business magazine in the United States published by SUCCESS Media, a company owned by VideoPlus L.P. According to the company the magazine is "designed specifically to serve the growing entrepreneur," and the magazine's primary focus is in providing information and content in the areas...
that he wrote the song when he was 17 and called the song "an autobiography put to music.” Walker also said, "I came from a poor family, and that poverty acted as my motivation to find a different way. Some people are happy with a little, but those who are not have the power to achieve all they can envision." When asked about if he had written a song about multiple sclerosis, Walker told United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, "I have not specifically written a song about MS, but that is definitely an intention. I'm ready at this point to be able to put something in words that makes sense. There's a song that I wrote when I first came out and it's called "Live Until I Die." One of the lines in that song is "I don't worry about things that I can't change." I have to look at a mess and say, "I can't let this bother me, I can't let it conquer me."
Content
The narrator in the song discusses how he has not changed since he was a kid and how he does not want to worry about the future; he wants to live for the day and take it one at a time.Reception
Larry Flick of BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
wrote "Walker follows his No. 1 debut single, "What's It To You," with an uptempo testimony to the virtues of always staying the same. Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe listed "Live Until I Die" as the 127th best country single of the 1990s and wrote, "This is one of the few instances when the theme of celebrating a carefree life is set to a pretty melody and restrained production."
Music video
The music video, directed by Marc Ball, features Walker singing and playing his guitar with friends and traveling down a river on a boat. After reaching the shore, Walker and his friends set up and organize a baseball game. Some members of the community watch the baseball game while others play horseshoes, Frisbee, and jump rope. As it gets later in the day, the community builds a bonfire and Walker plays along side it and the town claps and cheers.Charts
"Live Until I Die" debuted at #67 on the U.S. BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart for the week of October 30, 1993. It reached Number One for the chart week of January 29, 1994 after twenty weeks on the chart, giving Clay his second consecutive Number One single. It also peaked at #1 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Country Tracks charts in Canada.
Charts
| Chart (1993-1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 | 7 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 44 |