{{Infobox song | name = A Lifetime | cover = A Lifetime - Better Than Ezra single.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Better Than Ezra | album = Closer ''and'' Before the Robots | released = 2005 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = Alternative rock | length = 3:30 | label = Artemis Records | writer = Kevin Griffin | producer = | prev_title = Extra Ordinary | prev_year = 2001 | next_title = Our Last Night | next_year = 2005 }}
"'''A Lifetime'''" is a song by the American alternative rock band Better Than Ezra. It was originally released on the band's 2001 album ''Closer''. However, a new, re-recorded version (which would become the single) appeared on their 2005 album ''Before the Robots''.
==Content== On the surface, the song is about how a group of friends remember a close friend who has just died. However, in an article that appears on the VH1 website, lead singer Kevin Griffin says that the song is inspired by a story about the death of Gram Parsons: "Gram's tale is just a great, romantic rock'n'roll story. His friend stole his funeral casket from LAX and took it down to 29 Palms and set him on fire as the sun came up ... and that's where I got the story of some friends stealing their friend's urn, and honoring the girl's true wishes, and going out to the beach one morning and listening to this R.E.M. song they used to listen to growing up as the sun was coming up. It was a way to make something both personal and dramatic."<ref>VH1.com [https://web.archive.org/web/20020527091022/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/better_than_ezra/artist.jhtml#biographyEnd "View the Music Artists Biography Online"]</ref> During an interview for the online mini-documentary "A Brief History of Better Than Ezra," Griffin reveals the R.E.M. song to be "Perfect Circle".<ref>{{cite AV media| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/M_GiG1M77LM| archive-date = 2021-12-11| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_GiG1M77LM| title = A Brief History of Better Than Ezra : Story Behind A Lifetime / REM Song Revealed ( Part 4 ) | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Although "A Lifetime" was released as the first single from ''Before the Robots'', it would prove to be the highest-charting song from the album. It reached number eleven on the ''Billboard'' Adult Top 40 chart. It was the band's highest-charting single since "Extra Ordinary" in 2001.
==Chart performance== {|class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (2005) !Peak<br />position |- |U.S. ''Billboard'' Adult Top 40<ref>[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=better than ezra|chart=Mainstream Rock Tracks}} Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - Better Than Ezra]. Billboard.com. Retrieved on June 17, 2009.</ref> |align="center"|13 |}
== Release history == {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+Release dates and formats for "A Lifetime" ! scope="col"| Region ! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label(s) ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- ! scope="row"| United States | July 5, 2005 | Mainstream airplay | Artemis | style="text-align:center"| <ref>{{Cite web |title=FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more! |url=http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021162013/http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239 |archive-date=2010-10-21 |access-date=2026-04-28 |website=fmqb.com}}</ref> |}
==References== <references/>
{{Better Than Ezra}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifetime}} Category:2001 songs Category:2005 singles Category:Better Than Ezra songs Category:Songs written by Kevin Griffin Category:Artemis Records singles
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