In Magnifica Humanitas, valuing humanity by embracing death

In his song “If We Were Vampires,” American songwriter Jason Isbell compares human relationships with hypothetical human interactions as if the narrator and his lover were never to face physical death — as if they were vampires.

“If we were vampires and death was a joke/We’d go out on the sidewalk and smoke/Laugh at all the lovers and their plans/I wouldn’t feel the need to hold your hand,” the narrator sings.

By the end of the song, the narrator realizes that human finitude is not a problem to be overcome, but rather a good to be embraced. “Maybe time running out is a gift/I’ll work hard ’til the end of my shift/and give you every second I can find/And hope it isn’t me who’s left behind.”

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(Photo Credit: CNS/Lola Gomez)