Will Oldham (born 24 December 1970, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American si… Read Full Bio ↴Will Oldham (born 24 December 1970, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and musician. His music is often (perhaps inappropriately) placed under the genre of “alt-country”. Oldham has recorded under many names, including Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, and Bonnie Billy. He often plays and records with other musicians, including David Pajo and his brothers Ned and Paul Oldham, but is generally the chief creator of the music. He has also been involved in musical projects and bands such as Amalgamated Sons of Rest, The Anomoanon, The Boxhead Ensemble, Tortoise, and The Sundowners as well as releasing his first solo album in 1993. Oldham has said that the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy moniker has many references. These include ‘Bonnie’ Prince Charlie, an 18th century Jacobite; Billy the Kid, the 19th century American outlaw also known as William Bonney; and the American singer Nat King Cole. He has also appeared in several films, such as the 1987 film Matewan and most recently in Old Joy (released in late 2006). He is also the photographer of the cover image of the Slint album Spiderland.

Death To Everyone
Bonnie "Prince" Billy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am here
Right here
Where God puts non asunder
And you
In black dress & black shoe
You do
Invite me under
Go on

Go there
You can see me aging
Stars turn
Balls burn
Coming kids are raging

death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun

every terrible thing
Is a relief
Even months on end
Buried in grief
Are easy, light times
Which have to end
With the coming
Of your death friend

death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun

so strap me on
And raise me high
'cause buddy, I'm not
Afraid to die
'cause life is long
And it's tremendous
And we're glad
That you're here with us
And since we know
An end will come
It makes our living
Fun

[death]
Death to me
And death to you
Tell me what else can we
Do die do?
Death to all
And death to each
Our own God-bottle
S'within reach

Death to everyone
Is gonna come

And it makes hosing
Much more fun

Overall Meaning

The song "Death To Everyone" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy is a reflection on the inevitability of death and the way that it impacts life. The singer acknowledges that death is coming and that it will impact everyone, regardless of who they are or what they do. Despite this, he takes a somewhat positive view of the situation, noting that death makes life more precious and enjoyable.

Throughout the song, there is a sense of inevitability and acceptance. The singer notes that death is coming and that it will impact everything and everyone, but rather than despairing, he finds a certain sense of freedom in this knowledge. He notes that even terrible things can be a relief and that grief, while difficult, is ultimately just a temporary state.

The chorus of the song, "death to everyone is gonna come and it makes hosing much more fun," captures this view well. Rather than being frightened by death, the singer sees it as a natural part of life that adds to its value and intensity.

Overall, "Death To Everyone" is a song that acknowledges the dark and inevitable parts of life, but finds a way to view them with a sense of hope and humor.

Line by Line Meaning

I am here
I am present in this moment

Right here
I am present in this exact location

Where God puts non asunder
Where God does not separate us

And you
And you, the person I am addressing

In black dress & black shoe
Wearing formal attire

You do
You invite me to something

Invite me under
Invite me to participate or join

Go on
Encouragement to continue

Go there
Directing to a destination

You can see me aging
Acknowledgement of the passing of time

Stars turn
The rotation of the universe

Balls burn
The fiery movement of stars in space

Coming kids are raging
The next generation will have its own challenges to face

death to everyone
Acknowledgement of the inevitability of death

Is gonna come
Will happen eventually

And it makes hosing
It brings a sense of excitement or joy

Much more fun
Heightens the experience of living

every terrible thing
Negative aspects of life experiences

Is a relief
Finding respite or release from hardship

Even months on end
Enduring an extended period of difficulty

Buried in grief
Overwhelmed by sadness and despair

Are easy, light times
Moments of hardship pale in comparison to death

Which have to end
All experiences come to a close

With the coming
As a result of the inevitable approach

Of your death friend
The death of someone close to you

so strap me on
Preparing for an experience in life

And raise me high
Elevating oneself to experience life to the fullest

'cause buddy, I'm not
Asserting oneself as being unafraid of death

Afraid to die
Unafraid of the inevitability of death

life is long
Life is full of various experiences

And it's tremendous
Life is grand and awe-inspiring

And we're glad
A sense of happiness and gratitude

That you're here with us
Grateful for the people around you

And since we know
Acknowledgement of the inevitability of death

An end will come
All things in life will eventually come to a close

It makes our living
The knowledge of death heightens the experience of living

Fun
Brings excitement and joy to the experience of living

Death to me
Acknowledging one's own death

And death to you
Acknowledging the inevitability of death for everyone

Tell me what else can we
Admitting the helplessness and finality of death

Do die do?
Acknowledging the finality of death again

Death to all
Accepting the reality of death for every living thing

And death to each
Accepting the reality of death for every individual

Our own God-bottle
Our own ability to accept and cope with death

S'within reach
Is accessible to us all

Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@RekEighty

4y↑18

Lyrics
I am here
Right here
Where god puts
None asunder
And you
In black dress and black shoe
You do
Invite me under
Go on
Go there
You can
See me aging
Stars turn
Balls burn
Coming kids
Are raging
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
La la la ...
Every terrible thing
Is a relief
Even months on end
Buried in grief
Are easy light times
Which have to end
With the coming
Of your death friend
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
La la la ...
So strap me on
And raise me high
Cause buddy I'm not
Afraid to die
But life is long
And it's tremendous
And we're glad
That you're here with us
And since we know
An end will come
It makes our living
Fun
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun
Death to me
And death to you
Tell me what else can we
Do die do
Death to all
And death to each
Our own god-bottle
S'within reach
Death to everyone
Is gonna come
And it makes hosing
Much more fun

All comments from YouTube:

@ralucagymnast

13y↑9

Really great track. Love deep, profound, melancholy songs like this:)

@clementmichel8141

28w

Throughout existence, I guess there are only a few songs that you love and feel within immediately, at first listening. That is what I felt with this one. I remember being struck by its beauty, by its very deep meaning and resonance. A masterpiece without a doubt !

@RekEighty

4y↑18

@DrWest2

7y↑53

Probably one of the greatest song ever.

@19toke

4y↑6

I agree

@benijager1372

2y↑1

DEF ONE OF THE SONGS EVER

@garyrouyea5582

Agreed...I remember being quiet and just listening the first time I heard it...it demanded i do so...

@burak9100

2y↑27

WHY THEY REMOVED THIS SONG FROM SPOTIFY? 😭

@floridahippyman1984

Cause I’ve heard Spotify has been screwing and ripping off all the artists in getting paid so they remove there music from the platforms or from what I heard.

@gnell4244

2y↑2

I have no clue right?!?

@sarahreagan433

50w

I was wondering the same Damn thang, I mean WTF, every other song of his but THE BEST ONE

@garyrouyea3121

1y↑2

What a song...much respect...

@mrpumpkinn

13y↑3

forgot how much i love this track!!

@berckie1956

2y↑4

Brilliant text…I love this song very much

@sadhomie9294

8y↑10

Just saw this live. Hell of a show, I'll say.

@Iguanaintrouble

9y↑4

Incredibly beautiful.

@RatRaceTV

13y↑3

I listen to this when I'm depressed what a good song

@maclennan73

14y↑1

Putting this little song to that guitar played through an effect pedal is inspired. Love it!

@generalwise

12y

I heard this playing while reading "Forever War", this song fits perfectly, almost like it was written for the story. Cant wait for the Ridley scott movie of Forever War now that the 25 year copywrite is up.

@darkana1792

Tell me you didn't put this on repeat the past few years. Always wondering when it's gonna get ya.
No joke, this song helped colour the vid experience.

@northcountrybhoy

14y↑7

So strap me on and raise me high Cause buddy I'm not afraid to die But life is long and it's tremendous And we're glad that you're here with us And since we know an end will come It makes our living fun

@zenun7

15y↑2

fucken amazing artist 99% of his work is fucken great,thanks for giving me back my life w.oldham

@jessicadavis540

4y↑19

This is a good song. It plays during the end of an episode of Private Practice.

@urbackyardigan8222

3y↑3

Jessica Davis just finished this episode

@ericbarnes8155

3y↑3

@Urbackyardigan me too lol

@Inkaa1tarot

3y↑1

Just finished that episode 🥺

@subsamadhi

12y↑3

this is what they call "alt-country" or "freak-folk"...the genre has been around for a long time but it has become really hip lately for some reason. It goes back to guys like Graham Parsons and even bands like "The Band" and R.E.M. Bonnie Prince Billy is a really big figure in it right now.

@philbrown8181

8y↑2

Good drum samples/kit-mic'ing - soft and warm - good deep thuds

@DrMichael_Psychology

7y↑3

One of the most affirmative songs out there

@TakajoMiyazaki

12y

I need tabs for this. Right now.

@sniffthestuff

3y↑2

Its literally 2 chords.

@madnomad2246

great song, I highly recommend the cover by Dax Riggs too

@hippiescummmmm

13y↑2

I love Bonnie Prince. <3

@Guinizelli777

14y

Great music.

@madroxjamie

12y↑3

this is a great song. sorry to discover it so late or through a television show. long time hardcore fans probably get pissed over this but i need help. yes i watch hell on wheels, and yes i liked the cover version played in that particular episode better than this. so i beg and beg please help me find the deer tick version of this song. original version is also really pretty cool and i've already shared it on my facbook account. but for my mental health i gotta find the cover. so please HELP!

@donnyfisher3885

4y↑1

You ever find it?

@madroxjamie

4y↑1

@Donny Fisher sadly it remained unreleased

@VancouverIslandoutdoor

This should be put in the forever war movie that's being made. Would fit perfectly at a bleak sci fi movie

@padomima

8y↑11

This could be the soundtrack in so many death scenes.

@zmessiaht925

9y↑8

I heard this on the documentary about Bulgarian junkies called Invisible and I really like this song

@Nerdolympian

11y

Well, hopefully, someday he will come to that truth too. Because it's ultimately a healthier one to reach. We are surrounded by death and we always will be. Better just to make peace with it.

@DeepestSleep

14y

and since we know an end will come, it makes our living fun.

@darkmachete

14y

I heard this in a cafe in Asheville and fucking loved it since then!

@markflaherty5213

2y↑1

replying so you hopefully hear this again after over a decade

@oto-aoki

This sun is so freaking amazing

@justinlupi4018

2y↑1

Hell on Wheels 🤘

@xipenahui4

15y↑1

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@jonathanalpart7812

10y↑56

This song plays at the end of Invisible, a documentary film about heroin addicts in Sofia, Bulgaria.

@19toke

4y↑1

What does Hosing mean ? He says it in the lyrics

@kwiniarski97

4y↑1

@juan tamayo outside marriage sex with no regard for the pleasure of the recipient

@blah7676

12y

If you haven't found the tab already, it alternates between F#m and C# palace(dot)free(dot)fr/Tabs(dot)htm#D A lot of bonnie prince tabs here also.

@HaeresiarchSr

11y

Death is the opposite of life just as much as it is a part of it. They're mutually dependent; define each other. They represent the unity of opposites.

@92ladderley

11y↑2

True but you could argue that our own deaths are a part of someone else's life, grieving etc, in that sense they're still a part of each other.

@fauxbo

14y

I use to think Will was singing " it makes 'Jose' much more fun". This confused me greatly, but I enjoy the song that much more for it....

@GeekLif3

12y↑5

i love this scene on hells on wheels

@maclennan73

14y

This has to be one of the slinkiest badass songs ever.........?

@thaaatyyy

13y

Palermo SHooting!! theres where i first heard this song. very good one ;) btw the whole movies 's soundtrack is amazing!!

@kylefer

12y

hell yeah me too, the only thing I hated is they did not play more of it.

@alvinwilliams4482

its sad what i feel in lifetimes but thats how baphomet is

@Mikael909

11y↑1

this is awesome

@cthulhurlyeh7

16y↑1

"Death to everyone is gonna come, and it makes hosing much more fun" the line is a little tribute to one of William oldham's idol's

@sniffthestuff

Who and why?

@EthanKolasinski

13y

@northbanksy A wise man said something to the effect that death is the goal of life. To shrink away from it is to evade life. It is better for people to live on...to look forward to the next day...as if we have to spend centuries..and, then he lives hopefully. But when he is afraid...he doesn't look forward, he looks back...it petrafies him. He gets stiff...he dies before his time. But when he is looking forward to the great adventure that is ahead, then he lives.

@pinchewey4698

6y↑2

for the people who don’t understand this song. its about “addiction”

@aftaeight

12y

Burial in a box is just a preference for some. Is getting cremated and ending up in a vase on a mantle any more natrual? When we're gone, we're gone. So it matters little in the end. It matters more for those we leave behind.

@DB.KOOPER

1y↑1

I wish Deer Tick would release their cover of this song...

@bojidarmalinow7977

5y↑1

HEROIN IS MY LIFE ❤

@twentyarms

5y↑4

that sucks.

@dudebro8811

4y↑1

Many Many thought that before you. Of them, most are dead and the rest preach the horrors of it. Quit while you're ahead. No one else can see its love but everyone other then you can see its hell. Stop now.

@pjasonreese

10y↑2

It makes Jose much more fun

@SomeGuy-nr9id

i think it is jose or hosea sort of like old timer american pun that in mexican slang for jesus is hesus or hosea with a j
which is sort of what i think as that kinda would fit with the line of the song
death to everyone is gonna come ... which makes jesus much more fun
dunno if that's right but kinda fits

@etherealmist76

9y↑1

will motill Hosing is slang for copulating....

@SomeGuy-nr9id

ya but im not sure hes actually say hosing
im not sure if that really makes much sense if he is dunno maybe i just don't get it

@hodag95

ya you're wrong

@SomeGuy-nr9id

8y↑1

so its like saying which makes fkin much more fun lol i thought that was too much a happy thought for such a depressing song.

... humm you are probably right but...
i like it my way better.

4 More Replies...

@zaaralep2326

4y↑1

perfect song for Coronavirus mood

@dudebro8811

Its kinda decent

@strutnoodle

14y↑1

this would be a neat song for Muse to cover. Reminds me of Showbiz.

@annaededon

3y↑2

practice practice when they pour Pete’s ashes into the ocean

@bluheartredsky

12y

im chilling out listening to this at 1 am with some jimadors tequila, some lemonade chaser, and a square. good ass night

@masoncraftdesign

11y

The Bible explains death. The Bible explains it all. It's not difficult people. Learn some theology, it's quite interesting. With the internet there's no excuse now. Not all theology is created equal. If you want a start, check out John Piper. He gives proper exegesis.

@1985cactus

L-O-L

@BonniePB

12y

It's OK - I can die now

@friesenried

15y↑1

unbelievable

@jimmyfitz6702

17w

Love the chorus but I think it’s talking about necrophilia lmao

@Dvidflip

11y↑1

Death is not a part of life. Dying is.

@norderg

12y↑1

Actually sounds like "and it makes hosing much more fun".

@drowsygoon

11y↑2

death is not an event of life, it is not apart of life. Dying maybe, but not death it's self.

@TheMoonIsRed

11y

yes, very intense

@jackfaulkner2688

I like to pretend this is about Quiche, Quiche to everyone. I like Quiche.

@eliteburrito5969

5y↑8

Dude it’ll be crazy when its say like “20 years ago, 40 years ago”

@adsonjetson

13y

@northbanksy True ... death, the opposite to life ... fear, the opposite to love. The absence of fear is all you need!

@kylefer

9y↑9

It is Jose. Jose is the name of his highschool janitor, the kids used to prank him from time to time, covering one in ketchup and lying in the bathroom for the janitor to find him, the first time they did something like this Jose was said to have ran out of the bathroom screaming in a whimpering fashion, he was obviously very scared of death. "Death to everyone, is gonna come, and it makes Jose, much more fun."

@plemgrubern

+kylefer is this true?

@matthewhall7388

8y↑1

+Charles Crumb No he is saying hosing (google the meaning)

@plemgrubern

8y↑1

***** I have known about ''hosing'' since I first heard the song years ago. I was probably drunk or high on sleep medication when I typed that comment. I become naive when I'm intoxicated.

@frankpeter6851

Jose cuervo gave him 750 g's to be mentioned in one of his songs

@theforestero

12y

SCORPIO MOON... billy and the moon right now,....just discovered this music..

@jasoncloer8412

9y↑3

It makes 'sex' more fun... Hosing, urban dictionary.

@gt2e

15y

some fucking tune i love it,dont know why ye keep disecting the song looking for meaning just take what you want from it and less of orgasims and small deaths!!!

@muhammadmajidnazir4942

5y↑3

Hell on wheels Season 1 Episode 6 <3

@NexCarnifex

13y

@northbanksy But if you overcome the fear of death your more likely to do an hero.

@kylefer

9y↑9

This was on the tv show 'Hell on Wheels'

@elserijntje

4y↑5

Anyone listening to this during the times of the coronavirus?

@dreamon7391

It's Kali BITCH corona time

@dudebro8811

4y↑1

Probably. Yet all this proved is yet again, billy is unappreciated by the the masses.

@elserijntje

@John Doe absofuckinlutely. This is one of my favorite songs of all time.

@bracketbasher

14y

best ever

@zenun7

14y

when is going to get here i cannt stand the wait

@WeeMan1170

11y↑1

heres an idea, we stop talking about what part of life death has to do with? its a great song nevertheless.

@GabREAL1983

hell yeah

@agentoranges

15y

mr. oldham himself said he means having sex, so it's a happy song.

@fionahairdresser

10y↑1

Life is long and tremendous.....hmmmnn

@johnhoyt5364

12y↑1

Jose is still alot of fun though.

@pumpkin7296

Why no spotify?

@LonelyLoungeLizard

11y

Hosing, like spraying people with your bullets.

@xMOE

11y

if i remember correctly, he mentioned in an interview that "hosing" is a reference to having sex. again, im 100% not sure

@AlvinWilliams407

6y↑1

Kind of board but shout out to Crowley

@SoulDischarge

11y

Huh. I thought Clarissa explains it all.

@fionahairdresser

10y

Hooray!

@crazy4mickie

11y

What does he mean "and it makes hosing much more fun"?

@trickykid73

10y↑2

Everone i play this 2 , hate it !! ... There cant deal with it in there heads ... they want me to turn it off ... ??? I know why ! ... but can i get some info from you guys ? ... I know its very dark and downbeat .... but it touches my soul :(

@supertrommler

13y

irgendwann ist es soweit... für fast alle - nur für mich fällt das auf jeden Fall aus....

@gillwindall

13y↑1

hosing = "the whole thing" but like a kid might say it

@elliotwibley

13y↑1

I thought hosing had something to do with drugs.

@bigwent666

Palermo shooting :-DD best song!!

@sirstrongbad

13y

from the urban dictionary.. guess it fits given some of the other lyrics : hosing - verb: the act of fornication with no regard for the pleasure of the recipient. Usually accompanied by alcohol (see Jack Daniels hosing) and characterized by frenetic intensity.