Album version
We took the highway till the road went black
We'd marked Truth Or Consequences on our map
A voice drifted up from the radio
And I thought of a voice from long ago
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The kids asleep in the backseat
We're just counting the miles, you and me
We don't measure the blood we've drawn anymore
We just stack the bodies outside the door
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The wise men were all fools, what to do
The sun sets in flames as the city burns
Another day gone down as the night turns
And I hold you here in my heart
As things fall apart
A downtown window flushed with light
Faces of the dead at five (faces of the dead at five)
Our martyr's silent eyes
Petition the drivers as we pass by
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Darling your tyrants and kings fall to the same fate
Strung up at your city gates
And you're the last to die for a mistake
LAST TO DIE is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 2007 album Magic. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of LAST TO DIE as released in 2007.
Considering Bruce Springsteen's outspoken support for senator John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, there is no question that he was aware of Kerry's words when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during hearings on the Vietnam War on 23 Apr 1971. Upon returning from his service in Vietnam, the 27-year-old decorated naval veteran said during his statement, "Someone has to die so that President Nixon won't be, and these are his words, 'the first President to lose a war.' We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Kerry's statement obviously inspired the Springtsteen song in which he repeleatedly asks, "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?"
"Truth or Consequences" is the name of a town in New Mexico.
It's unknown when exactly LAST TO DIE was written, but the song was recorded during the Magic recording sessions which took place between March and May 2007 at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta, GA. Soozie Tyrell contributes violin on this track.
Magic is Bruce Springsteen's fifteenth studio album. It was released on 02 Oct 2007 on Columbia Records. The album was officially announced, along with its track listing, on 16 Aug 2007. It was produced by Brendan O'Brien and was recorded between March and May 2007 at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta, GA.
Magic was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album but failed to win. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, becoming Springsteen's eighth number one album in the U.S. and selling about 335,000 copies in its first week. Magic also peaked at number one in several European countries including the UK.
The album features 12 tracks and clocks at 50:48. The twelfth track is bonus hidden track that was added to the album two weeks after the album was announced.
Other versions of LAST TO DIE were also officially released.
In preparation for the Magic Tour, LAST TO DIE was performed during all of the tour's three public warm-up rehearsal shows that took place in September 2007 in Asbury Park and East Rutherford. The song is also known to have been practiced during at least 5 of the private rehearsals that took place in September 2007 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg, and during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in February 2008 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's second U.S. leg.
LAST TO DIE was performed 100 times during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008); that is each and every one of the tour's regular dates. The song was played in its full-band album arrangement. The 30 Aug 2008 performance was during Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary Celebration. The live 19 Nov 2007 version of LAST TO DIE was released on the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston 11/19/07 official live download in 2018. The live 22 Apr 2008 version of LAST TO DIE was released on the St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL, April 22, 2008 official live download in 2019. The live 28 Apr 2008 version of LAST TO DIE was released on the Greensboro, North Carolina April 28, 2008 official live download in 2020. The live 23 Aug 2008 version of LAST TO DIE was released on the Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO 8/23/2008 official live download in 2017.
In preparation for the Working On A Dream Tour, LAST TO DIE is known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in March 2009 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.
LAST TO DIE was performed 3 times during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009), all in North America in the first half of October 2009. All three performances of the song featured Curt Ramm on trumpet.
LAST TO DIE was performed once during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013), on 20 Mar 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
LAST TO DIE was performed off-tour on 28 Sep 2007 (morning) at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, NY, during Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's live broadcast on The Today Show. The song was played in its full-band album arrangement. See the live 28 Sep 2007 (morning) version for more details.
At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's LAST TO DIE.
Thanks Keith and Ugo C for the lyrics corrections. Thanks David Varet for the info about the John Kerry statement.
List of available versions of LAST TO DIE on this website:
LAST TO DIE [Album version]
