Music Friday: ‘Youth’s Like Diamonds in the Sun,’ Sings Alphaville in the Timeless Anthem, ‘Forever Young’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great tunes with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. A little over 30 years ago, the German group Alphaville released “Forever Young,” a timeless anthem from its debut album that compares the virtues of youth to “diamonds in the sun.”

The song also gives a nod to De Beers' iconic advertising line "A diamond is forever," which Advertising Age named the slogan of the century in 1999.

“Forever Young” was a big hit in Europe in 1984, as it charted in nine countries. In the U.S., however, the song stalled at #65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Despite the song’s lukewarm reception, the song hasn’t faded. In fact, it’s gotten better with age.

The life of the song seems to mirror the lyrics sung by frontman Marian Gold, who is now 60 and continues to tour with the band: “It's so hard to get old without a cause / I don't want to perish like a fading horse / Youth's like diamonds in the sun / And diamonds are forever.”

Extending the longevity of “Forever Young” is the fact that numerous artists, from Tiffany and One Direction to Youth Group and Jay Z, have covered it. It’s also earned pop-culture status, as it continues to turn up in television shows, commercials and major motion pictures, including 2004’s Napoleon Dynamite.

Please check out Alphaville’s recent live performance of “Forever Young.” Gold’s powerful lead vocals and the song itself hardly show their age. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

"Forever Young"
Written by Bernhard Lloyd, Marian Gold and Frank Mertens. Performed by Alphaville.

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

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune
The music's played by the, the mad men

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever? Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later, they all will be gone
Why don't they stay young?

It's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
Youth's like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn't happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever young?

Screen captures via YouTube.com