The Chronicles of Life and Death (song)

"The Chronicles of Life and Death"
Single by Good Charlotte
from the album The Chronicles of Life and Death
Released	June 3, 2005
Format	CD single
Genre	Pop punk, emo
Length	3:03 15:12 (Australian single)
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Benji Madden, Joel Madden
Producer(s)	Eric Valentine
Good Charlotte singles chronology
“I Just Wanna Live” (2004) “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (2005) “We Believe” (2005)

“The Chronicles of Life and Death” is the third single from American rock band Good Charlotte’s third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death. It was officially released on June 3, 2005. The song was the band’s first single after drummer Chris Wilson left the band (this is noticeable when the band are seen playing in the video because there is no drummer present).

Music video

The music video shows a dying old man lying in his hospital bed with a robot chained to his left arm. The man is looking through some pictures on a projector. The first few pictures show him being born in a hospital bed with the robot creeping up from behind. On the cue 'into this life', a chain is applied to his hand after a necklace is put around the baby's neck. The video then shows him as a baby and then as a young boy riding a bike with the robot behind him and then on a motorcycle through a graveyard when he's older.

The next few pictures are of him working in a toy factory. The robot is shown next to him in all the photos. The man then goes off to war where he proposes to a girl before it changes so that the man is holding the body of a badly injured friend. This memory makes him shed a tear. The man marries, has three children and is still shown with the robot attached to him.

The final few pictures show him as an elderly gentleman. He is celebrating his birthday in the next picture but then the robot takes him back to the graveyard to lay flowers on his wife's grave.

At this point, the man is in a wheelchair and has white hair. When the lyrics 'and you go out just the same' are said, the man passes away and his heart monitor has a flat line.

The robot notices this and releases the chain from his hand before walking down the room to another baby and applying the chain to suggest that this will happen again.

Track listing

UK CD 1:

1. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Album version) – 3:03
2. “Mountain” (Live from the BNN/3FM program That’s Live) – 4:38

UK CD 2:

1. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Album version) – 3:03
2. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Live from the BNN/3FM program That’s Live) – 3:53
3. “I Just Wanna Live” (Full Phatt Remix) – 3:25
4. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Music video) – 3:03

UK 7":

1. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Album version) – 3:03
2. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Live from the BNN/3FM program That’s Live) – 3:53

AU Single:

1. "The Chronicles of Life and Death’ – 3:06
2. "Mountain” (Live from the BNN/3FM program That’s Live) – 4:38
3. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Live from the BNN/3FM program That’s Live) – 3:59
4. “I Just Wanna Live” (Full Phatt Remix) – 3:27
5. “The Chronicles of Life and Death” (Music video) – 3:03

Chart performance

Chart (2005)	Peak position
ARIA Singles Chart[1]	31
Austrian Top 75[2]	5
German Top 100[3]	65
Irish Top 50[4]	6
Swiss Top 100[5]	2
UK Top 75[6]	30
UK Hot 100<ref name="UK Top 100 Chart]][1]	2

References

1. ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. ARIA Charts. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
2. Austrian Top 75 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
3. German Top 100 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
4. Irish Top 50 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
5. Swiss Top 100 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
6. UK Top 75 Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2008.

External links

• "The Chronicles of Life and Death" Official music video on YouTube