Dying Rock Stars' Famous Last Words
From the profound to the prosaic, a recent book reveals the last words of dying rock stars. Priya Elan rounds up some of the most memorable. Despite the achievements accrued during their life, the profundity of someone's last spoken words is not guaranteed. The final utterances of Nostradamus ("Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here." Well, duh!) and Winston Churchill ("I'm bored with it all") both lack the gravitas for which they were known. For a lucky few, however, their final words become an apt summation of their personalities (Steve Jobs: "Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow"; Oscar Wilde: "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do"; Archimedes: "Don't disturb my circles!"). There is an expectation that rock stars, many of whom have spent their lives penning couplets that eloquently describe the wealth of human experience, will expel a nugget of wise poeticism in their final breaths. But, as Jeremy Simmonds writes in the recently reissued Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns and Ham Sandwiches: "When the final moment does arrive, even the most articulate can struggle to find the right words." Clinical psychologist Dr Linda Blair believes circumstance is a dictating factor in how deep and meaningful one gets. "It's about whether you know you're going to go or not. If you do, your last words are more likely to impart something with perspective and serenity. If you don't, they are more likely to be a random snapshot of where you are at that moment and time." So while George Harrison, Bob Marley and Kurt Cobain may have left us with something atypically thoughtful, others, such as Adam Faith and Amy Winehouse, were less inspired. Bo Diddley: "I'm goin' to heaven! I'm comin' home." Amy Winehouse (on Twitter): "Oinka Oinka Oinka why you awake." Terry Kath (Chicago guitarist who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound): "Don't worry – it's not loaded, see?" Michael Jackson: "I'd like to have some milk. Please, please give me some more." December 14, 2012 Copyright © 2012 The Guardian
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