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Cover of Birth, School, Work, Death by The Godfathers
Cover: Birth, School, Work, Death

Song · The Godfathers

“Birth, School, Work, Death” by The Godfathers

From the album Birth, School, Work, Death (1988)

“Birth, School, Work, Death” by The Godfathers appears on 32 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1988 and 2026. It was first released in 1988 on the album Birth, School, Work, Death. Its best result is #39 on the WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #283 alternative song of 1988 and #572 alternative song of all time.

32countdowns
7stations
#39best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1988–2026years charted

Watch

The Godfathers - Birth, School, Work, Death (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (TheGodfathersVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

The title track of the Godfathers' second album, "Birth, School, Work, Death" came out on Epic in February 1988, and as four-word summaries of a life go, it's about as bleak as they come. Vic Maile produced it and Steve Brown handled the mix, and the songwriting credit is shared five ways, among Chris Coyne, Peter Coyne, Kris Dollimore, Mike Gibson and George Mazur.

The alternative rock band's album got a second life in 2011, when Lemon Recordings, an imprint of Cherry Red, reissued it in an expanded edition.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 89 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 92 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 1989) 101
1989 49 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1991 39 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1994 202 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 214 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 774 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 356 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 138 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 742 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 99 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 793 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 101 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 796 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 159 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 796 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 186 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 796 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 796 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 192 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 796 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1105 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1046 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1061 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1102 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1140 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1193 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1249 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 509 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 865 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 487 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2026 711 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

Also listed as: Birth School Work Death; Birth, School. Work, Death.

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →
  1. 1SuedeheadMorrissey
  2. 2DesireU2
  3. 3Beds are BurningMidnight Oil
  4. 4Route 66Depeche Mode
  5. 5Peek-A-BooSiouxsie and the Banshees
  6. 6Chains of LoveErasure

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