Do all rock stars go to heaven? That’s the subject of M.I.A.’s latest “27”, which she released on Saturday as a dedication to Amy Winehouse. The song was recorded in late 2010 around the time M.I.A. released Vikileekx, and addresses the odd and tragic phenomenon of talented musicians dying at the young age of 27. Amy Winehouse is the latest musician to pass away just three years shy of her 30th birthday, joining the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrisson, and Janis Joplin.
Lyrics:
said your all mouth and no brains
all rock stars go to heaven
you said you’ll be dead at 27
when we drunk in a English tavern
the owner poured you the Bourbon
and you drunk your self so rotten
he got so rich he bought a Bentley
and moved himself to Devon
you started dirty dancing
and you bar tended a dozen
i took you to the clinic
to get you clean but you couldn’t
said in 2 days ur 27 and and ur destiny was comin
and ur papa passed so sudden
and left you with lil somin
you blew that money on a mountain of drugs
and staged your self a bedin
a month later when i popped in
your still high but the winter set in
i bought you a coffee and a muffin
and you quoted me some Lenin
i wished i was that clever
but thats what kept me coming
your friendship did mean somin
but you left me for nothin
when i left, you befriended a rope
and i found you both were hanging.