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JAY-Z & Mr. Hudson
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Over a sample of Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” Jay-Z contemplates his place in the rap game and whether or not he’ll be around forever in our memories.
It also is a play on one of his many aliases, Young, and how he’ll be Young forever.
[Intro: Mr. Hudson]
Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while
Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men
[Chorus: Mr. Hudson & Jay-Z]
Forever young, I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever, and ever? (Uh)
Forever young (Young), I wanna be forever young (Forever young)
(Ayy, may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows)
Do you really want to live forever, forever? Forever young
(But we ain't even thinkin' that far, ya know what I mean?)
[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
So we living life like a video (Video)
Where the sun is always out and you never get old
And the champagne's always cold and the music's always good
And the pretty girls just happen to stop by in the hood
And they hop they pretty ass up on the hood of that pretty ass car
Without a wrinkle in today 'cause there's no tomorrow
Just a picture-perfect day that last a whole lifetime
And it never ends 'cause all we have to do is hit rewind
So let's just stay in the moment, smoke some weed, drink some wine
Reminisce, talk some shit, forever young is in your mind
Leave a mark they can't erase, neither space nor time
So when the director yells cut, I'll be fine
I'm forever young
[Chorus: Mr. Hudson]
Forever young, I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever, and ever?
Forever young, I wanna be forever young (Forever young)
Do you really want to live forever, forever? Forever young
[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
Fear not when, fear not why, fear not much while we're alive
Life is for living, not living uptight, 'til you're somewhere up in the sky
Fear not die, I'll be alive for a million years, bye bye's
Are not for legends, I'm forever young, my name shall survive
Through the darkest blocks, over kitchen stoves, over Pyrex pots
My name shall be passed down to generations
While debating up in barbershops
Young slung, hung here, showed that a nigga from here
With a little ambition, just what we can become here (Yeah)
And as the father pass the story down to his son's ears
Young'll get younger every year, yeah
So if you love me, baby, this is how you let me know
Don't ever let me go, that's how you let me know, baby
[Chorus: Mr. Hudson & Jay-Z]
Forever young, I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever, and ever?
Forever young, I wanna be forever young (Forever young)
Do you really want to live forever, forever? Forever young
(Just let it run)
[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Slamming Bentley doors, hopping outta Porsches
Popping up on Forbes' list, gorgeous (Hold up)
Niggas thought I lost it, they be talking bullshit
I be talking more shit, they nauseous (Hold up)
I'll be here forever, you know I'm on my fall shit
And I ain't with foreclosure, I will never forfeit
Less than four bars, Guru bring the chorus in
Did you get the picture yet?
I'm painting you a portrait of Young
[Chorus: Mr. Hudson]
Forever young, I wanna be forever young (Forever young)
Do you really want to live forever, forever? Forever young
Young Forever was written by JAY-Z & Kanye West & Marian Gold & Bernhard Lloyd & Frank Mertens.
Young Forever was produced by Kanye West.
JAY-Z released Young Forever on Tue Sep 08 2009.
During a conversation with David Letterman in 2018, Hov revealed this about the song:
Sometimes [songs] can happen immediately. Songs happen in three minutes sometimes, [while] “Forever Young” took me about a month to finish. I was like, “Man, I can never finish this song!” And then, it never turne...
The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of May 14, 2010. It charted for a total of 25 weeks.
On December 4, 2023, “Young Forever” was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA.