Death’s Not Great Lyrics
Eddie PerfectDeath’s Not Great
[ENSEMBLE]Latin Lyrics
Death's not great
[BETELGEUSE]
Death's far from ideal
Death has a sick way of keepin' things real
Could?be?lurking right there
In?the next shellfish meal on your?plate
[ENSEMBLE]
Death's not great
[BETELGEUSE]
No one's safe from its touch
Happens all of the time
Happens frankly, too much
Health insurance can help
Just depends on your coverage rate
[ENSEMBLE]
Death's not great
[ALL]
Ev'ry living thing dies
From the mightiest whale
To the smallest of flies
So why does it come as a massive surpris? when it's fate?
[ENSEMBLE]
Death's not gr?at
[BETELGEUSE]
Death comes all at once
Or it happens in stages
Even tortoises die and those things live for ages
No matter how hard against the dying light a man rages
It's always checkmate
Death's not great
Yeah but ev'ryone does it
Although its a fact no one wants to discuss it
[BETELGEUSE AND ENSEMBLE]
It's hardly a subject you'll likely to tossup
When you're on a date
Death's not great
[ALL]
There's a dread that can fill you
For Christ's sakes, a fucking mosquito can kill you
There's so much to hate (So much to hate)
It's a waste of breath but
Death's not great
And it's just 'round the corner (Just 'round the corner)
Pounces on you like an improv performer
And when it's too late (When it's too late)
You're stuffed in a crate (Stuffed in a crate)
And all that is left (And all that is left)
Is a stack looking fit (a stack looking fit and yes)
Yes, death's not great
One little wrap 'round the farm, then it's over
Some fun in the sun, then you're pushing up clovers
We all booked that flight to eternal vacation
It's all beer and jello then "hello cremation"
One day it's all a palaver of schedules
The next you're a naked cadaver at med school
So hey, what can we say
Death's not great
It just suddenly happens
Folks dig a hole and say "ah, well that's that then"
And sell your estate (sell your estate)
It's a red-hot mess
Yes, death's not great
Your funeral's filled with fake "see-you laterers"
The corpse is ignored while they fawn on the caterers
God I'm depressed (God I'm depressed)
I think I need a rest (I need a rest)
And all that is left (And all that is left)
Is a stack of unpaid debts (your unpaid debts, yes)
Yes, death's not great
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- First-pass opening number for the musical - a big ensemble prologue that Beetlejuice punchlines into shape.
- Replaced later by the show’s eventual curtain-raiser, shifting focus and comic attack while keeping the “death is inevitable” thesis.
- Lives officially on the 2020 compilation Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos rather than the Broadway cast album.
- Hooks: black-humor one-liners, quick patter, and a chorus that lands like a rueful chant.
- Studio demo features Eddie Perfect up front with stacked ensemble vocals and rhythm-section drive.
Creation History
This was the early workshop opener - an ensemble-forward curtain lift that sets Beetlejuice’s worldview in neon. In later drafts, the team shifted to a leaner opening that snapped closer to character and plot. The cut didn’t kill the core idea, though; it migrated into the show’s eventual opener, which carried the same “we all die” thesis with sharper pacing. The studio demo landed on the 2020 archive set, giving the number a proper home outside the rehearsal room.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
There’s no plot to advance yet - that’s the point. As a prologue, the song lays ground rules: death is constant, absurd, and everywhere. Beetlejuice barges through with macabre stand-up energy while the ensemble functions like a chorus of eye-rolling realists. It reads like a welcome speech at a very weird orientation.
Song Meaning
The piece frames a blunt thesis: mortality is universal and taboo, so let’s joke about it before it eats us. The music splits the difference between Broadway patter and pop-rock chug. You hear the show’s later DNA in miniature - wry philosophy, carnival snap, and a lead who sets terms with a smirk.
Annotations
“Latin Lyrics”
The opener nods to the Requiem tradition with the famous “Dies irae” text - a centuries-old chant tied to Judgment Day that composers love to quote when death walks into the room. It’s a sly way to plant stakes before the jokes start.
“Even tortoises die and those things live for ages”
The gag works because it’s technically right - tortoises skew ancient by our standards - and it lets the lyric pivot from science-fact tone to punchline without breaking the groove.
Genre and feel
Ensemble prologue built on patter and stomp - tight band hits, chorus responses, and a title tag that lands on the downbeat. The harmony piles up like a crowd groan, which keeps the bleakness funny.
Emotional arc
Start - choral warning flare. Middle - Beetlejuice catalogues all the ridiculous ways we go. End - the curtain metaphorically lifts with everyone on the same grim page.
Touchpoints
Liturgical pastiche at the top, nightclub comic energy in the verses, and a Broadway button to send us into story. According to Playbill’s score breakdown, this track was a stepping stone - the tone stuck even as the opening strategy evolved.
Key Facts
- Artist: Eddie Perfect
- Featured: Ensemble voices in demo context
- Composer: Eddie Perfect
- Producer: Eddie Perfect (demo release context)
- Release Date: October 30, 2020
- Genre: Pop theatre, patter-driven opener
- Instruments: Rhythm section, keys, guitars, stacked vocals
- Label: Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records
- Mood: sardonic, brisk, oddly chipper
- Length: about 4:45
- Track #: 2 on Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos
- Language: English
- Album: Beetlejuice: The Demos The Demos The Demos
- Music style: chorus-led prologue with rock backbeat
- Poetic meter: mixed meter; trochaic pulses in patter lines
Canonical Entities & Relations
- Eddie Perfect - wrote and performs the studio demo.
- Ghostlight Records - released the 2020 demos compilation.
- Sh-K-Boom Records - label imprint for the demos release.
- Beetlejuice (musical) - Broadway show that later opened with a different number.
- Alex Timbers - directed the Broadway production that refined the opening shape.
Questions and Answers
- Was this the show’s opening on Broadway?
- No. It was an early workshop opener that got cut as the show tightened; the production opened with a different number.
- So what survived from it?
- The thesis - mortality is inevitable and awkward to discuss - rolled forward into the later opener’s comedy engine.
- Is there an official release?
- Yes. The studio demo appears on the 2020 compilation of development tracks.
- Does the demo include a full ensemble?
- It’s built to feel ensemble-forward, with stacked vocals and call-and-response textures around the lead.
- Any live versions from Broadway?
- No standard production used it. You’ll mostly find the studio demo and commentary uploads.
- Charts or certifications?
- None - it’s an archival demo, not a single.
- Why start with a “Dies irae” wink?
- It plants a classic death motif in bar one. It’s a fast way to signal theme before the patter kicks in.
- What does the title line do musically?
- It’s a deadpan refrain that the band punctuates like a punchline - a running verdict every verse keeps earning.
Awards and Chart Positions
The track itself has no chart entries. The Broadway production built around this material drew eight Tony nominations in 2019 and collected design honors in the same season.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2019 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Nominated |
| 2019 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score - Eddie Perfect | Nominated |
| 2019 | Outer Critics Circle | Outstanding Scenic Design - David Korins | Won |
Additional Info
The demo dropped alongside a full batch of alternates and cut songs - a rare, generous look at how a Broadway score shuffles its deck. Playbill’s interview with the composer spells out the workshop history plainly: this was the big ensemble opener before the show found a sharper way in. BroadwayWorld’s release announcement locked in the track list and made the archive easy to hear end to end.
Sources: Playbill; Apple Music; Spotify; Ghostlight Records YouTube; BroadwayWorld; Wikipedia; Classic FM.