Alicia Keys’ “Perfect Way to Die” Lyrics Meaning
Alicia Keys explained on her official Instagram account that “Perfect Way to Die” is a song about the innocent lives that have been lost in America in the past years because of injustice brought on by racism. She actually penned the song after being inspired by the horrible cases of racism and injustice she saw on the news.
Below are Keys’ words in relation to this song exactly as they appeared on her Instagram account:
Verse 1
She begins the song with the story of a woman whose son is gunned down after he goes to a shop to buy some items. Many have speculated that Keys is referring to the tragic case of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon was an unarmed teenage African-American who was shot and killed by a white man (George Zimmerman) in February of 2012. And why is it believed Keys is referring to Trayvon here? That is because Trayvon also met his death in a similar fashion.
Verse 2
In the second verse, Keys tells another sad tale of an innocent black person dying a death for no reason. Here, she talks about a woman being pulled over by law enforcement and arrested. However, her arrest leads tragically to her death in police custody. Here, it is believed that Keys is referring to the sad case of Sandra Bland. Bland was a young African American woman who died in police custody after being arrested for a traffic violation in July 2015.
“At least you’ll stay forever young
I guess you picked the perfect way to die”
What’s the meaning of “Perfect Way to Die”?
According to Keys, said phrase (song’s title) is senseless. However, just like the phrase makes no sense, so does it not make any sense that innocent black lives are constantly being lost in America due to “police violence”.
Facts about “Perfect Way to Die”
Keys wrote and produced “Perfect Way to Die” along with producer Sebastian Kole.
Her management subsequently released it on 19th June, 2020. It is the fourth single Keys dropped from her album “ALICIA”.
“Perfect Way to Die” was preceded by the following singles (all of which are from “ALICIA”):
- “Good Job”
- “Underdog“
- “Time Machine“
- “Show Me Love”
Shortly after the track’s release, Keys took to Twitter to say that she hopes that someday the song would no longer “be so relevant”.
