# A Lifetime

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/A_Lifetime.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lifetime
> Source revision: 1351531319
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Infobox song
| name       = A Lifetime
| cover      = A Lifetime - Better Than Ezra single.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [Better Than Ezra](/source/Better_Than_Ezra)
| album      = [Closer](/source/Closer_(Better_Than_Ezra_album)) ''and'' [Before the Robots](/source/Before_the_Robots)
| released   = 2005
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [Alternative rock](/source/Alternative_rock)
| length     = 3:30
| label      = [Artemis Records](/source/Artemis_Records)
| writer     = [Kevin Griffin](/source/Kevin_Griffin)
| producer   =
| prev_title = [Extra Ordinary](/source/Extra_Ordinary)
| prev_year  = 2001
| next_title = [Our Last Night](/source/Our_Last_Night_(Better_Than_Ezra_song))
| next_year  = 2005
}}

"'''A Lifetime'''" is a song by the American [alternative rock](/source/alternative_rock) band [Better Than Ezra](/source/Better_Than_Ezra). It was originally released on the band's 2001 album ''[Closer](/source/Closer_(Better_Than_Ezra_album))''. However, a new, re-recorded version (which would become the [single](/source/single_(music))) appeared on their 2005 album ''[Before the Robots](/source/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](/source/VH1) website, lead singer [Kevin Griffin](/source/Kevin_Griffin) says that the song is inspired by a story about the [death of Gram Parsons](/source/death_of_Gram_Parsons): "Gram's tale is just a great, romantic rock'n'roll story. His friend stole his funeral casket from [LAX](/source/LAX) and took it down to [29 Palms](/source/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.](/source/R.E.M._(band)) 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](/source/Perfect_Circle_(song))".<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](/source/YouTube)}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Although "A Lifetime" was released as the first [single](/source/single_(music)) from ''Before the Robots'', it would prove to be the highest-charting song from the album. It reached number eleven on the ''[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))'' [Adult Top 40](/source/Adult_Top_40) chart. It was the band's highest-charting single since "[Extra Ordinary](/source/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](/source/Contemporary_hit_radio)
| [Artemis](/source/Artemis_Records)
| 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}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifetime}}
Category:2001 songs
Category:2005 singles
Category:Better Than Ezra songs
Category:Songs written by Kevin Griffin
Category:Artemis Records singles

{{2000s-rock-song-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Lifetime](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lifetime) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lifetime?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.