Too Young to Die (song)


"Too Young to Die" is the second single taken from British funk/acid jazz band Jamiroquai's debut studio album, Emergency on Planet Earth. The original version of the track runs at 10:18, however, both the single and album versions were cut, running at 3:22 and 6:05 respectively. The single peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 50 in France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

Background

The commercial single includes all three versions of the track. The song's lyrics are about the fear of war and death due to political machinations. A music video was shot for "Too Young to Die". It was directed by W.I.Z., and consisted mainly of Jay Kay singing in what appears to be a desert military installation. The single's cover art depicts Jay Kay in the background, looking into the camera, with a sky-blue "grill" of the Buffalo Man in the left, as hollow spots, which are slowly morphing into solid blue crosses, headstones, the polar opposites to the meaning of the buffalo man. This morphing happens as one moves their eyes from left to right over the cover of the single. There is also a banner near the bottom of the sleeve which has several images on it, including a picture of a baby with a caption beside it reading "Too Young to Die", an image of the mushroom cloud, and a Swastika, with the latter having a red "X" over it.

Track listing

UK CD single
  1. "Too Young to Die" - 3:22
  2. "Too Young to Die" - 10:18
  3. "Too Young to Die" - 6:05
  4. "Too Young to Die" - 6:22
Japanese CD single
  1. "Too Young to Die" - 3:22
  2. "When You Gonna Learn" - 3:48
  3. "Too Young to Die" - 6:05
  4. "When You Gonna Learn" - 5:49
UK 12" vinyl
  1. "Too Young to Die" - 10:18
  2. "Too Young to Die" - 6:05
  3. "Too Young to Die" - 6:22

    Charts