From the recording Being Well
“Death Is Nothing to Me” confronts the finality of death (Epicurus) while offering a critique of hedonism in its various forms (Bentham, Mill, and Epicureanism). The verses highlight the difficulty of pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain (“Absence of pain could be felt in a dream / If not for the bane insomnia of my being”), while the chorus shifts to parallel major to affirm Epicurus’s famous line. Basing happiness primarily on pleasure ultimately limits meaning to oneself as the horizon of value; complete absence of pain is only achievable in death, which we cannot experience.
lyrics
Lyrics
What is more real?
The way that things are or the way that they feel
Today I’m afraid that it’s far from ideal
Pleasure and pain
In every direction my reflection’s the same
A lingering thought, not to drive me insane
And my death, is nothing to me
Cause I won’t be anything
And my death, is nothing to me
Can you believe it?
Why does it seem?
Absence of pain could be felt in a dream
If not for the bane insomnia of my being
It helps to complain
Don’t keep it contained, like the blood in your veins
Find some good friends to help you try to stay sane
And my death, is nothing to me
Cause I won’t be anything
And my death, is nothing to me
Can you believe it?
What is more real?
The way that things are or the way that they feel