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How to Be Dead

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"How to Be Dead"
Single by Snow Patrol
from the album Final Straw
Released25 October 2004 (UK)
RecordedBritannia Row, The Diving Bell
GenreIndie rock, alternative rock
Length3:23
LabelFiction/Polydor
Songwriter(s)Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland, Nathan Connolly and Jonny Quinn
Producer(s)Jacknife Lee
Snow Patrol singles chronology
"Spitting Games (re-release)"
(2004)
"How to Be Dead"
(2004)
"You're All I Have"
(2006)

"How to Be Dead" is the fourth (fifth if the re-issue of "Spitting Games" is counted) and final single by Snow Patrol from their album Final Straw. It was released in 2004, slightly remixed by Chris Lord-Alge from the album version, and reached number 39 in the United Kingdom and number 42 in Ireland.

The song is a downtempo rock ballad, with lyrics detailing a conversation between a couple.

Reception

Yahoo! Music's Jairne Gill reviewed the single positively, giving it 7 stars out of 10. Though he felt Snow Patrol usually made "ugly empty anthems", the single was a "rather lovely little song" and "modest" and "chimingly melodic". Gill praised the lyrics of the song, calling it "a pretty little knife which Gary Lightbody seems to be twisting into his own chest, a list of druggy regrets and lost loves" and also said that, though the song's "gentle, skipping rhythm threatens to go BIG", it doesn't and "a pretty and intimate song is preserved".[1]

Track listings

CD

  1. "How to Be Dead" (Chris Lord-Alge Mix) – 3:23
  2. "You Are My Joy" (Live at Somerset House) – 3:20
  3. "Chocolate" (Grand National Mix) – 4:58

Germany 3" CD

  1. "How to Be Dead" (Chris Lord-Alge Mix) – 3:23
  2. "You Are My Joy" (Live at Somerset House) – 3:20

7"

  1. "How to Be Dead" (Chris Lord-Alge Mix) – 3:23
  2. "You Are My Joy" (Live at Somerset House) – 3:20

Promo CD

  1. "How to Be Dead" (Chris Lord-Alge Edited Mix) – 3:12

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[2] 42
Scotland (OCC)[3] 32
UK Singles (OCC)[4] 39

"How to Be Dead" was featured on the soundtracks to American Pie: Band Camp and Wicker Park.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Snow Patrol - 'How To Be Dead'". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. ^ "Chart Track: Week 44, 2004". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Wicker Park: Various Artists: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  6. ^ "Wicker Park". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-10.