Life'll Kill Ya - Warren Zevon

Life'll Kill Ya - Warren Zevon

2:47

Life'll Kill Ya, 2000

Written by Warren Zevon

Et in arcadia ego, as only the inimitable Excitable Boy could write it.  Not exactly carpe diem, because in this song, life isn't always that great even when you do have it.  "It's the kingdom of the spiders / It's the empire of the ants / You need a permit to walk around downtown / You need a license to dance."  It may not be shockingly ironic, considering how often Zevon went to the mortality well (like thinking Biggie Small's lyrics are somehow prescient), but it is sad.  "Some get the awful, awful diseases," he sings; two years later he gets the news that he has one.  Enjoy every sandwich.

Dirty Life And Times - Warren Zevon

Dirty Life And Times - Warren Zevon

3:15

The Wind, 2003

Written by Warren Zevon

Zevon's "bad boy" persona, probably honestly come by, is on display here, but in a more reflective mood.  The narrator muses on his maverick nature, his reluctance to toe the line.  "Some days I feel like my shadow's casting me."  Is he the owner of his wild side, or is his wild nature leading him?  It's a lonely life, but maybe "a woman with low self-esteem" can stand him for a while.  "And if she won't love me then her sister will / She's from Say-one-thing-and-mean-another-sville."  What a line.  And a crack band, too.  Don Henley on drums and Dwight Yoakam on backing vocals.