Do Only the Good Die Young?

Do Only The Good Die Young? (Jennifer)

By Captain Midnight

Adapted from “Only the Good Die Young” By Billy Joel

This is a different poem from my previous ones in that it’s autobiographical -- the events happened pretty much as described -- and it takes a contrary viewpoint to Billy Joel‘s take on organized religion. I recommend you listen to his version (check it out on my page) and then read the poem.

My high school newspaper proposed “Only The Good Die Young” as my senior class theme song. Some of the good ones did die young, and this poem is dedicated to them.



(Eight bars of introductory piano music, one bar of drum roll)



(Verse 1)

Dear Jennifer,
You didn’t make me wait,
A Catholic girl who
Didn’t start late,

We were thrown together
By a twist of fate,
And soon you thought I was the one …

You’d fallen in love
Before with a mate,
Given him your cherry on the
Ninety-third date,

You loved him, he loved you but not
at the same rate,
‘Til you felt he would not be the one …

 Do only the good die young?

(Brass/sax riff)

Because if they do,
I’ll surpass Methuselah,
Aging all the way.


(Verse 2)

Then you flew the nest
Half a thousand miles away,
Went to college where by chance
You and I were in a play,

When you went home for Christmas
we feared you would stay,

Since your money was all but gone …

Just as school restarted
You were here once more,
Steven your boyfriend
Was finally out the door,

And I seemed the man
You were looking for,
Because I had missed you too …

Oh dear if I only knew!

(Brass riff)

Oh what would have happened
If I knew then
How to question everything …

(Verse 3)

The last night but one
We partied with the cast,
You wanted to show me
Your feelings at last,

When you held my hand
I felt an electric blast,

Not to mention the goodnight kiss …

A week later you invited
Me to visit you,
You wanted to watch a movie or two,
But then we kissed again
The inhibitions flew,

Like we were each other’s first one ...
Do only the good die young?

(Brass riff)

That’s how it felt …
I had never made love …
And maybe neither had you.

(Chorus/interlude 1)

Jennifer they didn’t give you quite enough
Information …
On how to handle intimacy,
Between a he and a she …

Sex Ed has a misunderstood 
Reputation …
For promoting promiscuity
Where there ought to be monogamy,

But however

Abstinence is fine
For those who make the choice,
Perhaps it’s best
‘Til love raises its voice,

But when you’re in love
She might as well be Rolls-Royce,
Sex feels like it’s heart to heart …
Whether or not it’s smart.

(Brass riff)

As if it was glandular,
Just a primitive urge,
Like anyone could master it.

(Verse 4)

Buttons opened, zippers pulled,
Hands touching bare skin,
Fingers sliding beneath
Waistbands, probing within.

The first real make-out session 
I’d really been in,

Until the clock struck one …

You led me out the dorm door,
Blushing as you went,
You weren't usually "friendly,"
I knew just what you meant.

To each other it felt
As if we were Heaven-sent,
We knew it would happen soon …

By the light of the silvery moon …

(Brass riff)

Each time we kissed thereafter
We wished we could make love then
But on our own terms.


(Verse 5)

At spring break you slept in my house
For two nights and a day,
And on that first night
Together we lay.

Touching, kissing, fondling,
For each other to say,
We wanted the two to be one …

I felt like a virgin
As I sank into you,
And felt your whole body
React to someone new,

A nub-rub at the right time
Brought climax through and through,
And then we drifted off to sleep,

For each other our souls to keep …

(Brass riff)

Do people really surrender like that?
Or do they live with regrets
Of what they shouldn’t have done?

(Verse 6)

The next night we tried more,
Even 69,
I thought I knew your body
As well as you knew mine,

Perhaps from emotion
It felt almost divine,
I felt at heart you were the one …

Do only the good die young?

(Brass riff)

That’s what they say …
Only the good die young …
The others live to regret it.

(Chorus/interlude 2)

Jennifer, was there something
Missing at the consummation?
I said “I love you,”
You said “I love you too,”

But was it love or was it
Teen infatuation?
Although we kept up that way
Until a nightmarish May,
Oh oh oh!

(Verse 7)

I was fired from my job,
You were doing a show,
More dependent than ever
I became, as you know,

You were living with an actor
Who also wanted you so,

I became the jealous one …

You were 18, I was 28 but
A boy among men,
You moved back home
And Steven stalked you again,

“Yes” to him, “No” to me,
A few last letters and then,
The page irrevocably turned.

And my heart was forever burned.

(Brass riff)

Should I have marched off …
Never thinking of you …
Forsaking love and lovers?

(Chorus/Interlude 3)

Oh Jennifer you gave me bad information,
‘cause I thought women like you …
Could never be true.

And yet in your final communication,
You said I’d find love again,
You just didn’t say when,

I thought it was never …

(Big sax solo)


(Verse 8)

Twenty-two years have passed,
The little girl is fully grown,
A husband named Greg, two kids of their own,

I’m guessing that you have
Reaped what you have sown,
You really did find the one …

I hope there’s a heaven
For people who are great,
I plant myself
On the outside of the gate,

Sorrow is my portion
and I have a big plate,

But I hope I haven’t hurt any one …

And a friend of mine, Joan,
Has a similar tale,
But her point of view is
That of the female,

When she found love,
She cast off lines and set sail,

And now she helps me see the sun …

Maybe it’s worth it to not die young!

(Brass riff)

There’s plenty of good to go around.
We can always keep trying,
To better our lives.

Not only the good die young,
Not only the good die young …
Not only the good die young,
Not only the good die young …

(Repeat until the music fades out)