More often than not, musicians make an impact, stunning listeners with their music and touching audiences with their lyrics. Even when they leave this world, their words rarely do.
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Here are some musicians’ famous final utterances that strike deeper than any lyric could.
George Harrison
“Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.”
Surrounded by loved ones and spiritual leaders, the famed former Beatle George Harrison gave a final message to the world that aptly summed up who he was and how he lived.
The deeply spiritual musician had lost his battle with cancer. Following the news of his death, his wife Olivia wrote his fans. “He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, ‘Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.’”
James Brown
“I’m going away tonight!”
In the early morning hours of Christmas Day in 2006, soul master James Brown passed away from congestive heart failure. His longtime manager Charles Bobbit was by his side and would later report his final utterance was, “I’m going away tonight” before taking his last labored breaths.
Bing Crosby
“That was a great game of golf, fellas. Let’s go have a Coca-Cola.”
Big band crooner Bing Crosby was an avid golfer and his last day would be spent at Spain’s La Moraleja Golf Course on October 14, 1977.
Valentin Barrios was among Crosby’s course companions that day and recalled the singer’s final round. “He played very well, and I know he enjoyed it very much,” he said. “He told us he was feeling much better after his fall in California a few months earlier and better still for being out on this beautiful golf course.”
Crosby won the game but would collapse only yards away from the clubhouse entrance. He died of a heart attack.
Terry Kath of Chicago
“What do you think I’m gonna do? Blow my brains out?“
Chicago’s guitarist Terry Kath was a firearms enthusiast, but on January 23, 1978, that enthusiasm turned deadly.
At the apartment of Chicago’s keyboard tech, Don Johnson, Kath was apparently messing with his .38 revolver. When Johnson made his concerns known, Kath responded with: “Don’t worry about it … Look, the clip’s not even in it.”
He reportedly put the empty clip back in the gun and began waving the weapon around his head. “What do you think I’m gonna do? Blow my brains out?” are the words the guitarist is said to have exclaimed before putting the presumably unloaded gun to his temple and pulling the trigger.
The gun unknowingly had a round in the chamber. Kath died instantly from the gunshot just days before his 32nd birthday.
“Dimebag” Darrell Abbott
“Van Halen!”
Heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell, formerly of the rock band Pantera, was performing with his newly formed rock outfit Damageplan when he was killed.
An obsessed fan shot and killed him only minutes into the group’s performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.
“The last thing that really matters to me is the last thing we said to each other before we went on stage,” his brother and bandmate Vinnie Paul shared in an interview.
“We were warming up on the side of the stage like we always did and we were both really excited—we only had two shows left and we were gonna be going home for Christmas and to begin work on the second record,” he continued.
“Our code word to let it all hang out and have a good time was ‘Van Halen,’ man! And that’s the last two words we ever said to each other. I said, ‘Van Halen’ and he said ‘Van Halen’ and we high-fived each other and went on the deck to do our thing… and a minute-and-a-half later I’ll never see him again.”
Bob Marley
“On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.”
Reggae legend Bob Marley poured spirituality and wisdom into his music. He would do the same with his last words.
He died on May 11, 1981 at the age of 36 after melanoma spread throughout his body.
His last words to his son Ziggy have often been widely misreported as “Money can’t buy life.” However, the icon gifted his son different parting remarks.
“The last thing my father told me was: ‘On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down,’” Ziggy has since shared. “A father telling his son that puts some responsibility on my shoulders. He told me that, and I take it very seriously.”
Kurt Cobain
“I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain closed his suicide note with the famous line, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away” from Neil Young’s 1978 song, “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue).” Signing off “Peace, love, empathy,” Cobain also wrote a short message to his wife and daughter, reiterating his love for them both.
Photo by Barry Feinstein / Courtesy of Universal Music
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