After Life

Memento mori.  When Roman generals would return victorious from war, they would be accompanied by a slave who would follow closely and repeat to them; Memento mori.  Remember death.  Thou art mortal.  As a reminder that no matter the accolades they were receiving, enough to draw the attention of the Gods, in the end, they were still just men.  They will still eventually die and rot away in the ground like the slave behind him.  

Man is one of the few creature on earth that is aware of their own mortality.  From a certain age, we come to accept that we will one day no longer be here.  At least most of us do.  Still plenty of people out there thinking that death won't ever come for them.  The rest of us know he's one day coming.

This is a list, concept I've been kicking around for several years now.  For a long stretch of time, being the family member with the most knowledge about video slide shows, I ended up becoming the go-to person to put together tribute/memorial videos for family and friends we would lose.  The first few times, I did it out of a sense of duty to family.  They were going through one of the most difficult times in their lives, the last thing they needed to worry about, I felt, was in coordinating these tributes to their loved ones.  I felt it was the least I could do to help them out.  
Unfortunately, as the years went on, I ended up doing more and more of these and they really start to weigh on me.  When I did dad's, I have to be honest, I started working on it months before he passed.  We just knew it was coming, it was only a matter of time.  But even with that much time to think about it, when it finally happened, it hit so much harder.  I have to be honest, I can't watch that video to this day without a few tears.  
So with that in mind, and knowing we're not going to live forever, I thought I could help out whomever ends up making my video...  I'm assuming SOMEONE would step forward and offer, God knows, I know enough people who are more than capable.  The photos and videos, I have thousands, literal thousands to choose from, so there's plenty to easily last the total runtime of my playlist.  But while the editor will be free to trim down some of the songs when they get repetitive, I would wish they could draw from all these musical selections.  I've curated this list over the years, changing the order sometimes, adding and dropping tracks when I'm introduced to something that I feel better fits the playlist.  As of April 18, 2021, this is my musical playlist for After Life.  

1) Sneak Out The Backdoor - Martha Bassett

Well I never been good at good byes,
I'm gonna sneak out the back door.

And when my life is over,
I'm gonna sneak out the back door.
Before the mood turns sober
I'm gonna sneak out the back door.

I was introduced to this song by Jason who played it for someone he knew and lost last year.  It just struck me as something I would totally do.  For as big and brash my personality can often be, truth be told, at the end of the party, I'll tend to quietly slip out the back without saying my goodbyes. 
Something I started doing because of family.  I'm Mexican and you know how we have to say Hello to EVERY Tio and Tia as soon as we arrive and then as the night's wrapping up, gotta track them down again or they'll get offended and talk shit if you left without saying goodbye to them.  By the time I was in my early-to-mid-20s, I had had enough and would just slip out the backdoor and be gone.  I'm thinking maybe when my time comes, it'll be the same.  Quietly without any fanfare, no goodbyes, just...  gone. 

2) Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound - Johnny Cash

Well, if you see me passin' by and you sit and you wonder why

And you wish that you were a rambler too

Nail your shoes to the kitchen floor

Lace 'em up and bar the door

Thank your stars for the roof that's over you

And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound

The Man in Black will make more appearances on this list.  I know, I surprised myself.  And this first selection really does reflect a little on what's on my mind about the great hereafter, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns.  I don't know what's out there waiting for me.  Is there an afterlife?  Is it just a big black void, nothingness?  Will my conscience cease to exist?  There are many unanswered questions and the only way to find out for certain is to go there.  But I'm not in any hurry.  I don't mind putting off that trip for as long as possible.  But when it does come...  

3) Starlight - Muse

Far away, this ship is taking me far away,

From away from the memories,

of the people who care if I live or die.

This is among my favorites by Muse and while the song was really about their fame taking them further and further from their closest friends and family, it easily applies to the afterlife.  This ship is taking me far away.  I'll never let you go if you promise not to fade away.  That's the one thing I believe many people feel about the great beyond.  They want to leave their mark on the world so as to not be forgotten.  Least of all by the people they held most dear.  Which leads right into...

4) Leave Out All The Rest - Linkin Park

When my time comes,

forget the wrong that I've done.

Help my leave behind some reasons to be missed.

Chester had his own demons to contend with while penning the words to this and other Linkin Park songs about death and loss.  And these lyrics are so poignant to me.  Which explains my generosity and desire to spend as much time with friends and loved ones as possible.  So that when my time finally does come, whether it be next week, next year or 30 years from now, I would like those who remember me to think of me fondly.  Yeah, I could be an abrasive asshole.  But I also would do anything to lighten the mood and do the littlest things to bring a smile to someone's face.  

5) We'll Meet Again - Johnny Cash

We'll meet again,

I don't know where and 

I don't know when.  

But I know we'll meet again

Some sunny day.

Once again, if there is an afterlife, I want to see everyone I loved on the other side of that rainbow bridge.  Both those who have gone before and those who will someday join us.

6) I Wanna Be Like You - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I've reached the top and had to stop

and that's what's bothering me.

O.k., this is where my sense of humor kicks in.  What, you didn't think this was going to be an entirely somber event.  You must not know me if you thought that.  Ever one to self-deprecate to get a laugh out of someone, you a should be expecting at least a few more picks like this coming.  

7) This Old House - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Ain't gonna need this house no longer,

He's getting ready to meet the saints.

As soon as I heard this version of the old standard, I knew it needed to be part of my list.  And it's no coincidence that it's another swing band either.  While I never learned to dance to swing music, I LOVE the big band style.  So raucous and upbeat despite the undertones of the song itself.  

8) El Rey - Vicente Fernandez

No tengo trono, ni reina

Ni nadie que me comprenda,

Pero sigo siendo el rey.

Again, with the jokes!  Haha!  But, it's also my song.  More so than I Wanna Be Like You despite that being King Louie's song.  A song about pure machismo to deflect from his own shortcomings.  I don't have a throne nor a queen and nobody understands me but I remain the king.   

9) Save My Soul - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I had a drink

With old Louie's ghost.

He was the most gracious host.

Even though this song is an ode to New Orleans, I just LOVE the smooth jazz vibe it gives off.  Asking the city to save his soul and then the line I quoted above.  

10) If I Ever Leave This World Alive - Flogging Molly

Wherever I am,

You'll always be

More than just a memory.

Think of this song as the dip in the rollercoaster.  Just as we had been reaching a good, upbeat feeling in the music selections, this one turns it back down a bit to ready you for...

11) In My Life / If We Never Meet Again - Selah

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey

And perhaps we'll never meet any more

Till we gather in Heaven's bright city

Far away on that beautiful shore.

This combined track is about as spiritual as I'm going to get in this playlist and also the lowest point on this ride.  Depending on the selected photos and videos, there shouldn't be a dry eye in the house.  My apologies, kind of.  And know that this should be the point where I ask that you no longer cry over me.  I'll explain at the conclusion.  

12) Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo

Waiting for an invitation to arrive,

Going to a party where no one's still alive.

If you thought I wasn't going to include this song, you don't know me very well at all.  I hear the chauffeur coming to my door. Says there's room for maybe just one more.  Start celebrating.  This should be a celebration of life, yes?  Start the party now, just one song left.

13) Ain't No Grave - Johnny Cash

There ain't no grave,

can hold my body down.  

And Lucky 13, ain't no grave gonna hold my body down.  So long as my memories continue on with you, I'm never truly going to die.  

And at this point, once the music stops, I would LOVE it if someone hired a New Orleans style brass band and start the party!  Like I said, it should be a celebration of life.  Drink, try not to get shitfaced like my birthdays.  Throw beads but you gotta earn them!  Most importantly, enjoy your time, toast to my memory.  Talk about the time we almost got arrested after the night at the strip club.  About that picnic in the middle of a cemetery at 3 a.m. where the nice lady cop told us to just go home.  Talk shit about me and all the times I pissed you off over seemingly little things.   I know I had a knack for pissing people off.  Yeah, I stirred the pot plenty of times.  It's what made me, me.