I Don't Want to Die
Conor Oberst Lyrics

I don't want to die in the hospital
The singer does not want to die inside of a hospital

You gotta take me back outside
The singer wants to be taken outside in order to avoid dying inside of a hospital

I don't want to hear all these factory sounds
The singer does not want to listen to the noises of people working in the hospital

Looking like a girl in a sleeping gown
The artist feels uncomfortable and vulnerable due to the clothing they are wearing

Can you make a sound to distract the nurse
The artist is asking for someone to make a noise in order to divert the attention of a nurse

Before I take a ride in the long black hearse
The singer is referring to the possibility of dying and being transported to a funeral home by a hearse

Help me get my boots on
The singer needs assistance with putting on their footwear

I gotta go, go, go
The artist feels a sense of urgency to leave the hospital and possibly avoid death

Cause I don't have long
The artist is aware that their time is running out

I don't give a damn what the doctors say
The artist does not care about the medical advice that they are receiving

I ain't gonna spend another lonesome day
The singer does not want to spend another day feeling lonely while confined in the hospital

And they don't let you smoke and you can't get drunk
The artist is expressing frustration about the restrictions on smoking and drinking while in the hospital

All there is to watch are these soap operas
The singer is bored and uninterested in the programming that is available to watch in the hospital

Can you get this tube out of my arm
The singer is asking that a medical tube be removed from their arm

Morphine in my blood like a slow sad song
The singer is under the influence of pain medication and feeling sad

Is there still a world out my windowsill
The artist is questioning if the world outside the hospital still exists

All there ever was I remember still
The artist is reminiscing on the memories they have of the world outside of the hospital

Don't know when it's day or when it's night
The singer is expressing a loss of sense of time

All I ever see are fluorescent lights
The singer's view is limited to the fluorescent lights in the hospital

They give me all these flowers and these big balloons
The artist is receiving flowers and balloons but does not find them comforting

But I don't wanna stay in this little room
The artist does not want to be confined to a small hospital room

Are the stars still in the sky?
The artist is curious about the outside world

Is that fat moon on the rise?
The singer is curious about the moon outside of the hospital

Feel the earth against my feet
The artist longs to feel the ground beneath their feet

As the cold wind calls for me
The singer is feeling the effects of death calling them

No I ain't gonna die in this hospital
The singer is determined to avoid dying inside of the hospital

You gonna take me back outside
The singer is requesting to be taken outside of the hospital