Jim Jarmusch’s 2019 horror comedy The dead don’t die is now streaming on Netflix, but what’s up with the Sturgill Simpson song in the movie? The dead don’t die Adam Driver joins an incredibly star-studded cast that also includes Selena Gomez, Bill Murray, Austin Butler and Tilda Swinton. Although The dead don’t die is technically a zombie film and follows some familiar beats, but also breaks from that genre in many ways because at the core, The dead don’t die is really a parody of zombie movies.

The dead don’t die also delivers extensive social commentary – the zombies in this film are created by fracking, after all – that is sometimes heavy-handed, although intentionally so. Overall, these elements are of The dead don’t die Giving the film a somewhat bizarre tone, which probably contributed to its mixed reception. This absurdist approach is also evident in the film’s song, “The Dead Don’t Die”, which features prominently throughout the film and plays a unique role in the story.

Adam Driver’s reference to the song in the film sets the tone

The dead don’t die is full of dry humor and meta-satire, and this song is no exception. In fact, Adam Driver’s character, Officer Ronnie Peterson, offers a meta-commentary on this song very early in the film. As Officer Ronnie and Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) patrol in their police car, Ronnie turns on the car radio and “The Dead Don’t Die” begins playing. After a while Cliff says: “Wow, that looks so familiar. What’s that song, Ronnie?” To which Ronnie replies: “It’s ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ by Sturgill Simpson.”

Adam Driver’s character, Officer Ronnie Peterson, offers a meta-commentary on this song at the beginning of the film.

Cliff says again: “Sturgill Simpson… Why does it sound so familiar?” At this point, Ronnie gets completely self-absorbed and says: “Well, because it’s the theme song.” The two then listen to the song in somewhat awkward silence. However, this is far from the only shot of “The Dead Don’t Die” in the film. The song is played so many times throughout the film that it actually plays that many times towards the end The dead don’t dieOfficer Mindy Morrison (Chloë Sevigny) hears the song again and screams: “Oh God! Not again.”

Mindy was clearly not alone in this opinion. Shortly after Mindy’s comments (and Ronnie’s dry rebuttal, “Sturgill Simpson. It’s a great song”), Cliff said to Ronnie, “I can’t take it anymore.” and not only turned off the song, but also pulled out the CD and threw it out the window of the moving car. Despite this action by Cliff, the song is played again during the credits.

This early reference to the film’s theme song by Ronnie sets the tone for the meta nature of The dead don’t die in a broader sense. The driver character Ronnie in particular provides meta commentary, including his consistent statement: “This will end badly.” This really comes to a head when Cliff angrily asks Ronnie how he manages to know everything before it happens and Ronnie says: “I know because I read the script.”

This strange song and the references to it signal to the audience that this will not be a typical zombie film.

This conversation goes even further, with Ronnie specifically referring to Jim (Jarmusch) for giving him the entire script, and Cliff saying he only has the scripts for their scenes. With that in mind, this strange song and the references to it are a way to signal to audiences that this won’t be a typical zombie film. Rather, “The Dead Don’t Die” underlines that the film doesn’t take itself seriously and shouldn’t be taken too seriously by the audience either.

Sturgill Simpson’s “The Dead Don’t Die” was recorded specifically for the 2019 film

The song was always intended as a long-term gag

It’s not surprising “The Dead Don’t Die” was written and recorded specifically for the filmwhich makes sense not only because of their shared title, but also because of the notoriety the song enjoys The dead don’t die. This also makes naming Sturgill Simpson a lot funnier. Just as director Jim Jarmusch was directly credited as the creator in the film, Sturgill Simpson was, in a sense, a part of this world himself.

Given the meta nature of The dead don’t diethere was really no choice but to have an original song created for the film. This not only gave the creative minds behind the film more latitude in coming up with a song that fit the story, but also ensured that the long-standing song gag worked. In a way, the song and the film were intertwined, and so the song – and its lyrics – had to be exactly right.

What the lyrics of Sturgill Simpson’s “The Dead Don’t Die” mean and how they relate to the film’s storylines

The film has a certain message

Except that “The Dead Don’t Die” is also important from a narrative perspective The dead don’t die, The lyrics of “The Dead Don’t Die” are also significant. Actually, The dead don’t die has a lot to say about the nature of today’s society and its many problems, which is best expressed in the song’s lyrics:

“In a somewhat familiar city

You saw this once when you looked up from your phone

Nobody bothers to say hello

And you can save all your farewells

Stop acting like we all aren’t alone.

While this message is dark, it underlines the entire film.

Of course, the reference to someone who rarely looks up from their phone is a direct nod to today’s screen culture and lack of face-to-face interaction. The idea that everyone is really isolated against this background is evident in both the film and the song. The dead don’t die is certainly an unusual zombie film, but this song, composed specifically for the film, reveals so much more about its message.