“Love Dies Young” by Foo Fighters

For those who believe that true love is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence which also coincides with one’s first love, Foo Fighters’ “Love Dies Young” may be for you. You ever heard the old adage ‘it’s better to have love and to have lost then never to have loved at all’? Well the Foo Fighters feel the opposite way. 

Their understanding reads more along the lines of ‘if you’re young and stupid enough to fall in love, that’s pretty much your a-s’. Or perhaps stated in its simplest term, the thesis of this track is that being heartbroken is something which one cannot recuperate from. And that conclusion is also based on another argument, which is that falling in love is more the most part inevitable.

The Foolish Act of Falling in Love

Indeed we can ascertain that the singer perceives falling in love as being dangerous to the point where it is an act of foolishness in and of itself. For example, in the first verse he refers to it as “a losing game” – yet one which a person will play nonetheless. And upon taking your loss, you will wish you never took the risk in the first place. 

Love can also have other detrimental effects, such as leaving one “numb” or “with a nasty reputation”. But again, the underlying theme throughout it all is that, despite the dangers involved, a person will still open his or heart to the arrows of Cupid regardless. That’s why at the end of the day, there are “never-ending cemeteries” filled with the “dreams” of those who played their hand – and lost.

But the bridge, where Dave Grohl utilizes that metaphor, also features another one of the most-interesting parts of the song. For here, considering that he is referring to “dreams (being) buried”, we can also argue that perhaps he is not speaking of amorous love per se but rather giving in to one’s passion – say fearlessly pursuing an intimidating educational or professional endeavor for instance. 

But ultimately both ideas are basically one in the same anyway. In other words, they both involve a person casting their fears aside in pursuit of a fantasy or drive which lies in their heart. And if such is the case within the context of this song (that he speaking to love in a wider yet still personal context), then what the singer is apparently saying is that people tend to have their dreams crushed at an early age.

But that is not to say all of the lyrics reek of hardcore pessimism. For instance, the chorus features the singer apparently pleading with love ‘not to take his breath away’. So he does, in a roundabout way, acknowledge that the aforementioned fate isn’t inevitable per se.

But at the end of the day, he more so acknowledges the futility of it all. For “love” is something which the young, innocent and naïve must give in to. And once that does transpire, from the singer’s perspective, eventually comes the inevitable heartbreak. 

In closing, despite the elaborate explanation given above, it does actually feel – perhaps for those who have in fact had their hearts broken romantically – that he is in fact singing about amorous love.

Writing Credits for “Love Dies Young”

All of the members of Foo Fighters are acknowledged as writers of this song. And at the time of the release of this track, that would be the following musicians:

• Dave Grohl
• Nate Mendel
• Pat Smear
• Taylor Hawkins
• Chris Shiflett
• Rami Jaffee

And the producer of the song is Greg Kurstin.

Release Date

“Love Dies Young” was put forth by Roswell Records and RCA Records. The labels put it out as the ninth and final track on the tracklist of the Foo Fighters’ album “Medicine at Midnight”, which also came out on 5 February 2021.