Too Young to Die (song)

The commercial single includes all three versions of the track. The song's lyrics are about the fear of war and death due to political machinations. The single's cover art depicts Jay Kay in the background, looking into the camera, with a sky-blue "grill" of the Buffalo Man in the left, as hollow spots, which are slowly morphing into solid blue crosses (specifically, headstones), which are the polar opposites to the meaning of the buffalo man. This morphing happens as one moves their eyes from left to right over the cover of the single. There is also a banner near the bottom of the sleeve which has several images on it, including a picture of a baby with a caption beside it reading "Too Young to Die", an image of the mushroom cloud, and a Swastika, with the latter having a red "X" over it. The violin from the song was sampled in the drum & bass D'Cruze song "Lonely" in 1994 on Suburban Base Records. ==Critical reception==

Peter Paphides from Melody Maker named "Too Young to Die" Single of the Week, along with "When You Gonna Learn", adding that it "takes the mood down a touch and sees Jamiroquai daubing a rudimentary batch of anti-war sentiments with an invigorating joie de vivre. [...] 'Too Young to Die' complements its predecessor as wonderfully as an Irish coffee after a steak platter." Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted its "uplifting strings intro" and "Jay's "Stevie Wonder"-ful voice [that] grabs the melody and envelopes itself in a warm overcoat of horns, funky guitar and intricate percussion accompaniment worthy of a Roy Ayers set. "Real" music for the acid jazzed amongst you." Kevin L. Carter from Philadelphia Inquirer commented, "Jamiroquai is a big Stevie Wonder fan. His vocal flourishes and hooks on 'Too Young to Die' are obvious borrowings, but they're done so earnestly, and the song is so deftly arranged, it just about gets over." Dr Bob Jones from the Record Mirror Dance Update stated, "This is pure soul jazz with the funky bassline. A simple worldly message is scattered over a tight rhythm section with horn stabs Seventies-style. Pure class — one to raise some dust!" Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it a score of four out of five, writing, "Led by the young (but still Stevie Wonder sounding) lead singer Jay, Jamiroquai have updated dark and dirty '70s funk. This is a stylish anti-war song that has really got what it takes. The obscenely talented Jamiroquai will go from strength to strength." Another Smash Hits editor, Pete Stanton, noted that it "feature a multitude of enticing grooves (plus plenty of do-do-do-dad-dos)." ==Music video==

A music video was shot for "Too Young to Die". It was directed by Earl Sebastion and filmed in New Mexico, consisting mainly of Jay Kay singing in what appears to be a desert military installation. The video was produced by Paul McPadden for M-Ocean and was released on 1 March 1993. ==Track listings==

• UK 12-inch vinyl • "Too Young to Die" (extended version) – 10:18 • "Too Young to Die" (original) – 6:05 • "Too Young to Die" (instrumental) – 6:22 • UK CD single • "Too Young to Die" (7-inch edit) – 3:22 • "Too Young to Die" (extended version) – 10:18 • "Too Young to Die" (original) – 6:05 • "Too Young to Die" (instrumental) – 6:22 • Japanese CD single • "Too Young to Die" (7-inch edit) – 3:22 • "When You Gonna Learn" (Digeridoo) – 3:48 • "Too Young to Die" (original) – 6:05 • "When You Gonna Learn" (Cante Hondo mix) – 5:49 ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Release history==