Forever Young (Alphaville song)
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Forever Young was the title track from West German rock/synthpop group Alphaville's debut album, Forever Young, released in 1984. The song was very popular in the 1980s and widely used as a prom song. Released as a single in 1984, it was available in both its original mix and also in the dance version: the "Special Extended Mix." Over the years, the band has also released several remixes and demos of the song.
"Forever Young" glorifies youth by expressing a fear of aging and death. Written during the Cold War, its swooping and hopeful chorus stands in relief against the verses' "hoping for the best, but expecting the worst; are you gonna drop the bomb or not?" The song is known for its closing quasi-fugue of synthesized trumpets.
Since its release, it has become a canon of synthpop culture, and is held in near holy regard by those attending CTY. "Forever Young" was also used in the prom scene of the 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite. The song was also featured in the episode Underage Drinking: A National Concern of the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
The song has also been covered many times. Artists to have recorded the song include Youth Group, Temperance, Countdown Singers, DJ Space C, David Monte Cristo, DJ Company, Dune, Emil Wakin Chau, Fire & Ice, Interactive, Waterboy, Ella, Tune Up, Axel Rudi Pell, and Swedish quartet Ainbusk who in 2001 re-wrote the song into an existential Christmas carol in Swedish called "Förevigt nu".
"Forever Young" is also the title of several other unrelated songs, some of which are relatively famous in their own right, including those sung by Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, and Meat Loaf.
[edit] Trivia
- In October 2006, "Forever Young" by Alphaville has been used by Swedish bank SEB in a television advertisement for requesting people to save money for their pension.
- Sara Burnett sang "Forever Young" at Idol 2006, but she never managed to go further.
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