POP SONG REVIEW: "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry

[@galleryofrogues]

For anyone who cares, original upload date was: 9/27/2011

[@dennisarmstrong8866]

Thank you!

[@ellaartenstein853]

I care, thank you for your services.

[@bruce1947]

Thank you!

[@sushiserpent2990]

I was 3

[@johnrogan8284]

Ahh, MW3 vs BF3 season. Good times.

[@JoelNietoTec]

I think the video isn't wide enough

[@zadiannelovessnakes8899]

i agree

[@JLynnEchelon]

I tried to scroll up for way longer than I'd ever admit.

[@rolllyjohn]

theater mode should do it

[@Darkko88]

The video so wide, your momma almost fits in it

[@henryam503]

That opening has so much more energy than the actual song

[@Solarmyr]

Could just be my former morbid 10 year old self talking, but back when I first heard this song I definitely interpreted it as her either being suicidal and planning to end her own life OR her thinking of her death (and the subsequent aftermath of it) hypothetically in a romanticized sort of way to make herself feel better and/or persuade herself out of doing anything she might regret. Hence the lines about her mother, the boy she likes, the satin, the roses, etc.

[@matthewkoch6937]

Agreed. I always heard a Romeo-and Juliet romanticized view of death in these lyrics. Yes, 28-year-olds do contemplate death, but not usually in such a syrupy way. I'll be 32 this year and while I don't fear death, I've seen enough of it to know this is a sheer fantasy.

[@RowanWarren78]

One of my closest friends died a year ago from suicide. This song makes me think of her. It's hard to hear.

[@patrickracer43]

I think this song could be revisited for One Hit Wonderland

[@katymoore4678]

Not really, they weren't as big as this one but I think Better Dig Two and The Way You Lie charted pretty well

[@djspuddzz8116]

Was it even a big enough hit to define them?

[@AaaAaa-ib9cd]

@@djspuddzz8116 In the country music world yes, in the pop world and mainstream, no.

[@possiblymaddie]

@@AaaAaa-ib9cd as he said in the achy breaky heart review, one hit wonders in country are a rarity for sure

[@Chelaxim]

They have had 8 songs in the Billboard Hot 100.

[@Zomdra]

The incongruously jaunty way he plays the song at the start of this one always cracks me up.

[@catcat4697]

As a non native English speaker, could you please define me the words you used to describe the song? They sound fun to use

[@Zomdra]

@@catcat4697 Sure, "incongruous" basically just means "inappropriate" or "out of place" and "jaunty" just means "happy" or "cheerful".

[@catcat4697]

@@Zomdra thanks! Also big ups for reacting within 15 minutes, much appreciated.

[@alisaurus4224]

It’s a stupid “you’ll be sorry when I’m dead” message, but the melody is beautiful

[@grimkaizer8417]

Yeah I've been partial to this song because of the melody and pleasant orchestration

[@fashionguru16]

Also I love hearing Todd praise Taylor Swift for her genuineness. Ha! Just wait until Shake it off.....

[@JackedThor-so]

Wait until Look What You Made Me Do where she murders that version if her - literally.

[@CarlsCozyCorner]

She's still a really really good songwriter when she wants to be.

[@Dreamhouse126]

@@CarlsCozyCorner yea I get why ppl don't like Shake It Off and also everything on reputation (I do too), but let's not act like All Too Well doesn't exist...

[@wadespencer3623]

Shake it Off was genuine. Genuinely fucking awful.

[@Diana-mu7pc]

@@Dreamhouse126 I think of Taylor Swift in similar terms to Bob Dylan. A great but limited talent. Lots of embarrassing stuff in the discography but anyone who would discredit their songwriting skills or influence would be either lying, in denial, or just ignorant. Certainly not meant to be these big pop superstars as Taylor has kind of been branded and also leaned into. (I mean, pop Taylor can still be great at times but she's not made of the same stuff as a Lady Gaga.) I also think she's been kind of formulaic with what she releases as a lead single since at least 2012. Biiig catchy pop chorus, slightly annoying but very radio friendly. Usually a cringey joke bridge ("So he called me up and he was like"/"this sick beat"/"can't come to the phone right now"/"spelling is fun"-I don't know why more people haven't pointed out that these are all the exact same). NEVER meant to be impressive but catch on as huge hits. And they're almost always the weakest songs on the album. I kinda don't even count them as Taylor Swift songs in the same way that no one really defines Nicki Minaj by Starships or Super Bass. It's pop sellout crap put out by artists who maaaaybe should be above it? But with her two albums from 2020, she's leaning into the whole respectable folky singer-songwriter thing again. That's another thing I'd compare to Dylan. She may be cringe at times but she can still revert back to her artistry when she puts the effort in.

[@ffjreviews9029]

So, imagine if Taylor Swift sung a Simple Plan song. That’s If I Die Young.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

so true

[@jesusrox4u]

Ha!

[@Music_games_history]

Explains the dudes look

[@louisduarte8763]

That makes so much sense.

[@aaronpelavin2445]

Toddstradamus predicts 13 reasons why.

[@johnindigo5477]

Exactly what I thought. I'm surprised they didn't use this song. No one takes it seriously anyway.

[@iberian4862]

Wasn't the song itself that predicted it?

[@munjee2]

@@iberian4862 no it didn't predict it, I was it before it was a thing

[@munjee2]

OH GOD , HE'S FACING LEFT

[@Rocketboy1313]

"13 Reasons Why" the song.

[@galleryofrogues]

*Suicide is badass!*

[@kyuura4324]

She’s written her last will and testament because life is fleeting and you never know when you or a loved one will die! Ok never mind it’s heathers I guess

[@kyuura4324]

cole phelps Did you... reply to the wrong comment? Nothing in that comment related to my stupid reference

[@henryam503]

cole phelps I'm fairly certain Todd is mixed race? (If you've got info that he's Asian I'd suppose him to be half Asian half White), either way I think he does generally have the right to make jokes about white stereotypes, I'd also suppose that the reason he uses "Caucasian female" in this video is itself a joke about trying to be politically correct

[@henryam503]

cole phelps also if you watch the "Like a G6" video he also makes jokes about Asians and Asian stereotypes as well, he just doesn't do it super often because there aren't very many Asian people, especially Asian people who actually conform to Asian stereotypes in pop music

[@mikerivera373]

cole phelps “maybe he knows he has to keep certain people on his side so they’ll vote a certain way” what the fuck are you talking about? This is an old review of an old pop country song about a -teenager’s- woman’s death fantasy. How does it have anything to do with anything political?

[@wellhellothereitllbefun4901]

At one point in my life this was going to be the last song I ever listened to. Took two bottles of Tylenol PM and pressed repeat on my CD player. God 2013 was fucking stupid.

[@syvall]

I'm glad you're still alive

[@sshamsi]

Glad you're still here. If nothing else, because it'd be a dork ass way to go

[@zaccds]

These guys are due for a Trainwercords episode. They dominated country radio til about 2014 then decided to go full pop and alienate thier fan base.

[@galleryofrogues]

7:30 “When I’m dead, just throw me in the trash!” -Frank Reynolds

[@Omnicrom]

5:35 is lowkey one of my favorite ever jokes by Todd. Perfect timing and absolutely skewers this song's pretension.

[@dyrr836]

I think this is actually one of his funniest reviews overall. "Well GOLLY Cletus she's a goner!" fucking destroys me every time.

[@fermintenava5911]

The fact that the video references Tennysson and the "Lady of Shalott" is telling, because this song feels like it could have been written by Anne Shirley at her most over-the-top romantic phase ... up to the part where it becomes about a boy. AND the part where she thinks herself a big thinker. AND the part where all of that was presented with wistful irony. On second thought - it's nothing like Anne Shirley.

[@TheSongwritingCat]

Revisiting this, I do think the song was written by someone who watched the Canadian Anne of Green Gables miniseries

[@christopherb501]

11:50 Wish he did that "actual age" gag more than just twice.

[@robjgolde3221]

That Boyz II Men drop was perfect

[@postjm9]

I still think that's my favorite gag Todd has ever done.

[@florinivan6907]

'country artists in history' the awkward moment when you realise most newer fans of Taylor Swift don't even know she started out as a country music singer. Its been that long.😲

[@christaacree9759]

As a newer taylor fan litterly almost all newer fans know she started out as a country singer and now that she re-recorded fearless and red all new fans know.

[@gorbachevspizzahut]

I'm... old...

[@AslanKyoya1776]

“Who plans their funeral like this?” *laughs in 14 year old goth kid*

[@Alonzi.]

Literally had the songs picked out

[@Kedai610]

All good until you learn they put this out when she was 28

[@tegantalks9612]

This song is really sentimental to me because a friend of mine was killed in a car crash at 16 and they played this at her funeral. It makes me think of her. She died 13 years ago on April 14th. RIP Jazz ❤

[@timsopinion]

In all seriousness, I think this song is actually about the deification of artists who die at a young age. How they're canonized and treated like saints, instead of the flawed individuals they actually were. Or not.

[@steampunckairship]

5:07 Apparently, Todd has never heard of a Viking funeral... you know the one where you but the dearly departed in a wood boat full of oil, dry kindling, and their favorite flowers, push it into the water and light it on fire so their ashes sink to the bottom and become one with the earth. Otherwise known as the most badass way do dispose of that crappy rowboat taking up space in the barn, I think Todd underestimates the ingenuity of hillbillies.

[@rsmith6425]

I get that it's 'The Lady of Shalott' reference but no one seems to think how creepy will be to find the skeleton in the river when you're swimming. You sink a family members body in a river and that river is pretty much ruined for anything else. Really takes the romance out of the beautiful young womans body floating down the river in a boat with flowers.

[@LezCharming]

"Is she a Green Lantern"? I dig that interpretation of the song.

[@louisduarte8763]

If she were a Green Lantern, that ring would fly off to Oa, the Green Lantern Corps' home planet, to be assigned a new wearer.

[@noahr4951]

Todd, fix this and re-release it. It's friggin fantastic but dear lord that aspect ratio is painful. Love always, thanks.

[@meattenderizingexpert797]

your skin turns green when you wear fake jewelry, i think that’s what she meant

[@thepigeonsofthepacificnort2268]

Course if it’s genuinely copper, it’ll still turn your skin green

[@Jemini4228]

"Ain't even grey but she buries her baby" is a pretty touching line despite the overall sappiness of the song, I'm not gonna lie.

[@sourdrop]

I remember this being what stood out about the song to me when I first heard it. I'd never heard a song about death that mentioned how it would affect anyone other than a love interest and the section about her mother was what broke the dam for me upon first listen.

[@Jemini4228]

@@sourdrop yeah. Romantic love is grand but there are many types of love that are valid and worth exploring in songs.

[@noahr4951]

The hair on those guys is unforgivable.

[@JackedThor-so]

It was the late 2000s, early 2010s, all men's haircuts looked like garbage

[@ffjreviews9029]

They are just Justin Biebers with Dark hair

[@nomobobby]

An old meme, but still funny to me- “If I die young/ bury me in manga/ Lay me down on a bed of Shojo/ sink me in the river/ at dawn/ send me away with the words of a theme song!” Also what were we thinking back then? I could imagine this done seriously 100x sadder rewritten in a lot of different ways. Even of loser weeaboo teen getting melodramatic cause their going to die a virgin and can’t see past graduation. This just feels weirdly selfish.

[@TSFboi]

add this and "just a kiss" to "country songs ruined by the last line" >funny when you're dead how people start listenin' >let's do this right, just a kiss goodnight

[@rachaelkuipers7093]

I legitimately thought this was by Taylor Swift when I first heard it.

[@QJ89]

I think between this, Lady Antebellum and Taylor, Country got a raw deal in the early 2010's. And then Florida Georgia Line and RaeLynn made it even worse...!

[@guschampion]

The ring is green because fake gold turns your skin green. Still dumb.

[@djephery]

@@colephelps2405 Cole, my boy, what the fuck are you talking about?

[@sammanthaneys1444]

They are trying way too hard to relate to teens. Also, your piano playing makes this song sound happier than it actually is.

[@SpaceMotorist]

This is a hidden gem of a video on a dope channel. I appreciate this video sir! The jokes, the skit with blink 182, errthing. You are a yentleman and a scholar. Can you do Return of the Mack one day? Good day.

[@LukasWeber64]

I saw “gentleman and a scholar” and “good day” and your use of the word “sir” and thought, “oh, cute, a comment from back when this video was made when we used to all talk like fucking cringelords,” but then I saw that this comment is from 2019. I don’t know who you are or why you’re stuck in 2013, but you need to fucking stop.

[@technounionrepresentative4274]

@@LukasWeber64 I can tell your comment is from 2020 because you got annoyed at the dumbest shit in existence

[@BurtonJ88]

It's your lucky day

[@SpaceMotorist]

@@BurtonJ88 I forgot all about this comment, yet I did see and watch the episode today. Thanks

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

Yentleman indeed.

[@kyliepollert8341]

I never knew there was a review on this song. I really miss The Band Perry's sweet harmonies and country instrumentation; on their last few singles, I felt like they were trying too hard to jump on the Taylor bandwagon of going pop.

[@emmittnervend2918]

What kind of chick plans her own funeral? I can think of two Morticia and Wednesday Adams but, they would just ridicule this garbage.

[@kneazle3603]

Caitlin from ask a mortician

[@kneazle3603]

Mitski always wanted to die clean and pretty

[@imaginaryfoe2178]

I always thought it was about how stupid it is to treat death like anything other than the saddest constant of life. Like, "Funny when you're dead, how people start listenin'" was trying to say that death doesn't make anyone more or less important, like the song was feeding a loved one a hard truth that there's still nothing there more than their sweet little girl, and there never will be. She's not special all of a sudden. I thought it was sarcasm along the lines of "Death doesn't make you important, and it doesn't make me important either. It's constant. Do taxes make you special? I don't think so." Man I'm dumb.

[@personne-fp6cr]

This is essentially an emo song disguised as country

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

Country is just farm emo so...

[@dawnkyria8518]

Y’allternative

[@personne-fp6cr]

Y'ALLTERNATIVE

[@Littlestraincloud]

Perry girl looks like a cross between Riki Lindholm and Carly Rae Jepsen

[@marabasilone3642]

I was young when this came out and I thought it was a Taylor Swift song for the longest time

[@johnindigo5477]

I didn't even know it wasn't until this review

[@JackedThor-so]

I used to get Taylor Swift and Katy Perry mixed up for some reason

[@rayg6497]

I think it's weird that the would talk about no one listening until after your dead and then bringing up Tennyson. He was very much paid attention to while he was alive. He held the title Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom for over 40 years.

[@tegantalks9612]

Todd 2011- what kind of girl fantasizes about her funeral? Taylor Swift 2022 literally makes a comedy it out of her funeral in a music video and Todd loves it. Toddstradomus strikes again!

[@ebeneezerscrooge2942]

I miss the 90’s so bad. The drinking, the coke, the girls, all of it. My loved ones were still alive and I was full of joy. Such a great time.

[@werebunny131]

In fairness to the song, it does have the only 'knife-life' rhyme that didn't make me roll my eyes

[@KrisRN23935]

Funny thing is, that might actually be cheaper than a normal funeral. Caskets are expensive.

[@dankhill2033]

The use of "Adam's Song"😂

[@ThumperE23]

I love the outro song, Die, DIe My Darling by The Misfits great choice!

[@Kedai610]

This was always one of my favorite of Todd’s old reviews. I remember hearing this song around as a teenager but never paying attention to the lyrics until Todd tore it apart here.

[@antonspivack3928]

9:49 Change god to glob and that's basically Lumpy Space Princess.

[@wadespencer3623]

I still hear this at work. Weird that it's had that much staying power.

[@jimhjortsberg2990]

"Funny how when youre dead people start listening" Chester Benington in a nutshell.

[@CTShun]

The amount of recent comments on this is deeply amusing to me.

[@fashionguru16]

How does this have no comments???? This was hilarious!

[@rwrmunson]

Pulled down by copyright bots. Finally back up just recently. Todd fights the copyright trolls for our viewing pleasure.

[@huntermeek7450]

Nice Blink-182 reference:)

[@devinq4605]

The first thing I thought of when the bit about people listening after death was, maybe the narrator was sexually abused? Although Todd's thought makes sense too.

[@puffedrice4624]

This was my shit when I was thirteen.

[@sweesbees]

god the timing of that ending kills me every time

[@messinalyle4030]

If white women are statistically the longest lived, then it's ironic that the "young, white, beautiful, dead girl" is such a popular trope in fiction. Probably the reason for the popularity of this song.

[@witchflowers6942]

okay she wants us to bury her IN ROSES so we put her in a box full of roses then somehow sink that box into the river.

[@angelarrow1071]

I forgot Katy used to be country

[@TonyPitura]

Remember when Taylor Swift was considered a country singer?

[@PikaEd]

The funeral planning bit is great, I rewound to it several times.

[@Saintnick90]

This video is a moment in time, when Taylor Swift was strictly a pop-country artist and the idea of her "writing a song about the tragedy of an early death" seemed implausible. (I'm not saying she's written about it, as I'm not familiar enough with her wider discography to know, but I wouldn't bat an eye if she did it now.)

[@GoldenRose116]

She actually made one less then a year after this video. Its called Ronan and it about a boy that died when he was 3 because of neuroblastoma.

[@cheerfuloptimistic]

It seems appropriate that a song you complained was way too cheery for its subject matter sounds even peppier on piano.

[@biivamunner3122]

This song doesn't deserve to be in the same naming scheme as Die Young.

[@sirgemini5743]

well, i used to see them as a poor man's version of lady antebellum

[@gimmefeedback]

“You’d never hear Taylor swift sing about the tragedy of young death.” I’m pretty sure she went on to release Ronan the following year

[@AugAug989]

Maybe I’ve lost all good taste but I really like this song

[@tayloreh]

I think ive found the least viewed Todd video...

[@QJ89]

Did any-one give a shit about The Band Perry outside of this one song?

[@afterdinnercreations936]

♪If I die young, toss me in the garbage It's cheaper than a funeral and all those processions.♪

[@witchflowers6942]

bury me in fucking ROACHES

[@ddjsoyenby]

i love this song........but this era of todd is still hilarously savage.

[@zadiannelovessnakes8899]

1:31 What are you talking about? John Denver is a beautiful woman!

[@lylecohen1638]

Odd that it goes unmentioned that this song is also the four pop song chords

[@anonymoustipster202]

Odd, I Said E.T By Katy Perry Was The Worst Thing I’ve Heard In My Life, And Now I Think “If I Die Young” By The Band Perry Is The Worst Song I’ve Ever Heard In My Life.

[@Alex-fv2qs]

Maybe you just don't like Perry's

[@lordofgiovanni]

This is like Lay Me Low but like... if Lay Me Low wasn’t completely ironic

[@rosebyanyname]

Later on they would get really good. Their cover of Gentle On My Mind is excellent

[@marcel1372]

this starts to sound like a damn south park episode lmao

[@GoldenRose116]

Sadly another Taylor prediction of Todd that didn't come true. Not even a year after this video was uploaded Taylor released Ronan a song she wrote for a charity about and for a three year old who died of cancer

[@KahlessTheUnforgettable]

Do the guys in this band moonlight in a Beatles/Oasis cover band perhaps?

[@Music_games_history]

I was thinking more Midwest emo

[@Alonzi.]

The song brings nostalgia , good and bad

[@anthropophagistsomnambulis9872]

is it weird that i initially liked this song?

[@shamelesshussy]

Yes

[@postjm9]

Not really. Pop music, including pop country, is written by very talented and smart people who know what sounds good to your ears. They don't really expect most people to 'read' this closely.

[@thisduckisgoingtokillme]

Musically, this song is actually pretty killer. I wouldn't blame anyone for liking this song at first.

[@alannahfisherman1321]

Man. A time when Lady Antebellum was so successful, Lady Antebellum clones were on the horizon.

[@cassia3363]

There's a sequel to thjs song now, apparently!

[@Tdoranserrty]

Die Young by Slyvan Esso is a better song.

[@Jemini4228]

I definitely interpreted this as being about a terminally ill 16 year old girl or something when I first heard it.

[@sofiagolpe2224]

i was expecting glee

[@measl]

*I'll take the 1980s version performers for $100, please.*

[@keelanbarron928]

4:38 wait, it was satin? I thought it was the planet?

[@sportsjefe]

There's no sci-fi elements to this song, why would it be Saturn?

[@pepgoestheweasel]

“You’ll never see Taylor Swift” Yes, yes you will. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, you were bigger than the whole sky.

[@GoldenRose116]

Even before that you had Ronan, only a year after this video

[@Lyndiloo]

Dress me in satin, lay my body in a bed of roses, hold my funeral at dawn and send me off down the River Styx while playing a love song. Todd, come on. This was easy.

[@CAnc-b3g]

The green ring is because cheap fake jewelry leaves green residue

[@captainayaaya28]

Wow whenever Todd talked about Taylor in his older songs it kinda age badly. After 2012, especially with the release of LWYMMD (*pukes*), Taylor definitely isn’t some pure pink pony princess anymore. Also with the release of Ronan (an actual good song) Taylor definitely proves that she can talk about a subject as mature as an early death. And she has an unreleased song called Dark Blue Tennessee which is also has a boy dying Also this song is so boring lol.

[@spensirmclife6549]

Wait this wasn't a Taylor Swift song?!?!?

[@STRANDENGER42]

Man, I’m not sure I’ve disagree with Todd more on anything. Great melody and hook. Would adding an illness added to the song? It’s kind of universal appeal. Her voice has an innocent to it that does remind you of children. The lyrics can be clunky… but country lyrics tend to be clunky. What sucks this by far they’re biggest song and they can’t close with it because what a shitty way to send your fans home.

[@florinivan6907]

Problem is the fear sort of expressed here seems way too abstract. Imagine having a conversation with a young heathly person and they start talking about 'what if i die tomorrow?'. Its just too out there if you lack any context. They could have just as easily had a song called 'if I get abducted by aliens'. Yeah a fear of death exists but if you lack a specific reason to fear it then it comes across as weird. Granted artists are weird by default but still.

[@legacyofthe243]

I know this video is super old at this point and you're usually on the mark with things but you only got halfway there. Yes, the song is about contemplating suicide but b/c nobody respects her enough to listen to her while she's alive. There's plenty of ppl who only have nice things to say about you after you die. She's also saying to at least respect her at her death with her funeral. Super southern gothic.

[@TheAlps36]

This could be a really dangerous song for teenagers to listen to