I suppose I’ve been thinking about dying lately. It’s really hard for me to avoid such thoughts as I get older, and people around me start getting sick, getting old, and dying. So I had an idea for a song called “When I Die” and worked on it during March 2026. I’ve described the lyric-writing process in the embedded video, which ends with a live rendition of the song: just a single mic, me, and my Ibanez guitar.

Hey When I Die
Words and music © 2026 Jonathan Ochshorn

Verse 1. Hey when I die find those pictures I made as a kid
In a box that I put in the attic
I digitized most of them over the years
But I can’t seem to bury the past

You and your brother well you might want to keep one or two
I don’t know if it’s something you’re eager
To do and it certainly won’t bring me to tears
If they end up recycled or trashed

Chorus 1:
Hey when I die I know you can handle the pain
And if you try you’ll find a path through the stress and strain (over and over again)

Verse 2. Hey when I die won’t you manage my YouTube account
Yes I know that my songs won’t attract
The amount of attention of a viral sensation
But I still want to keep them afloat

And while you’re at it you’ll find that my websites contain
All my books and my papers I hope
Will remain open-access so a new generation
Can discover the stuff that I wrote

Chorus 2a:
Hey when I die you can say I’ll be setting you free
No need to cry this is the way it was meant to be (all throughout history)

Instrumental verse

Chorus 2b:
Hey when I die you won’t need me to explain
But I’ll still testify that the sun will come out after every rain (you can watch it shine again)

Verse 3. Hey when I die there’s a few things I’d never allow
Number one don’t embalm me like Lenin
Or Mao number two no mahogany coffin
And number three no big monument stone

Cause there’s way better options that are cheaper and also are green
Like that natural burial place that
I’ve seen out in Newfield you could visit me often
And watch how the meadows have grown

Chorus 3:
Hey when I die and the vessel you’re sailing’s unmoored
That tear in your eye it’s gonna end up on a minor chord (so throw it overboard)

Verse 4. And when you gather the friends that we’ve known for so long
In some place where they’re serving good food with
Good song well I already miss you so much
Just thinking bout how we’ll be so out of touch

Not to use my own dying as some sort of crutch
When its true irrevocable meaning as such
Makes it hard to imagine any plausible dogma
To clutch… Hey when I die