In Conversation: “Say Yes to Life” and ‘Kingdom Come’
Connecting the dots between Superman and Gang of Youths.
If I was to venture a guess, I would say that Gang of Youths’ singer and songwriter David Le'aupepe was not thinking about the seminal 1996 comic book miniseries Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross when he wrote “Say Yes to Life,” the closing track to the band’s incredible 2017 album Go Farther in Lightness. One is a story about hope breaking through to stem the tide of Armageddon and the other is a song about embracing and celebrating the ups and downs of life. On the surface, these are very different pieces of art that came from very different places, yet they both ended with similar conclusions.
Kingdom Come is the story of a not too distant future (next Sunday A.D. perhaps) of the DC Comics universe. In this world, the children of superheroes and supervillains have emerged, dominating and wreaking havoc across the globe with their extreme violence and nonchalance towards human life. In the midst of the chaos, Superman returns from a self-imposed exile to lead the heroes of the older generations to inspire their children to be better and to restore order. Things do not go according to plan thanks to despair driven hubris and detachment on Superman’s part, machinations by Lex Luthor and others who are greedy and powerful, and a restless generation angry at their elders for not understanding how times have changed in the world that they have inherited. It all climaxes in a conflagration of fists and blades and guns brought down by a nuclear bomb. In the end, Superman is reminded of his humanity before he crosses an unspeakable line and learns of the sacrifice of his contemporary, occasional rival, and friend Captain Marvel who used his last breath to contain as much of the bomb’s destruction as he could, allowing for survivors of the apocalypse.
“Say Yes to Life” is a song about not letting the trials and tribulations of life keep you down. It’s about reveling in the glory and the pain, the joy and the heartbreak, and everything else life throws at you because, as Le'aupepe so poignantly observed (emphasis mine) –
Our childhood is memory, still ascended high in dreams
And I’m suspending what I held for preconceptions of my being
I only say this to affirm our time is short
But we’ve will to carry on
Transcend with our scars and contusions
I was furious and dumb, lighting fires through the town
I’d play the fiddle and forget whatever I was pissed about
I know that most of you relates to some extent
And God, I know how lame it sounds
But I’m glad I became more human
Stay, don’t go
We’re like halfway through the halftime show
Do not let this one end
Before you emerge as the winner
The song ends in a thunderous crescendo declaring –
Say yes to sun!
Say yes to pain!
Say yes to sticking with a city through a thousand days of rain!
Say yes to grace!
Say no to spite!
Say yes to this!
Say yes to you!
Say yes to me!
Say yes to love!
Say yes to life!
Say, say yes to life!
It is here when I find the connection, where I see “Say Yes to Life” in conversation with Kingdom Come. They each end with a hopeful and life affirming message that life is worth living and everyone is worth saving. I can’t help but think that both are messages that we desperately need right now.
References
Gang of Youths. (2017). Say Yes to Life [Song]. On Go Farther in Lightness [Album]. Mosy Recordings.
Go Farther in Lightness. (October 30, 2024). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Go_Farther_in_Lightness&oldid=1254415160
Kingdom Come (comics). (April 5, 2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kingdom_Come_(comics)&oldid=1284053089
Kingdom Come (1996—1996). (n.d.). DC database. Retrieved May 19, 2025, from https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Kingdom_Come_Vol_1
Say Yes to Life. (August 18, 2017). Genius. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from https://genius.com/Gang-of-youths-say-yes-to-life-lyrics
Waid, M, & Ross, A. (2019). Kingdom come. DC comics.