And When I Die

Laura Nyro wrote it at 17, her first song, and sold it to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5,000. They recorded it in 1966, and she put out her own version on More Than a New Discovery in February 1967. The lyric takes a positive outlook on death.

The Blood, Sweat & Tears arrangement is very different from the earlier ones. The album version has two instrumental passages, one on an RMI Electra Piano and one for horns and temple blocks in the manner of a western cowboy song, with longer pauses between the choruses than the edited single. Jon Landau of Rolling Stone said it was over-arranged right into the ground and that Peter, Paul and Mary had done it better. The single came out on 30 September 1969 and reached number 2 on the Hot 100, behind the Beatles' Come Together and Something. In Canada it went to number 1 for two weeks in December 1969. Billy Childs and Alison Krauss recorded it in 2014 for Map to the Treasure and were nominated for a Grammy.