There are two types of death:the kind that comes so soon,and the kind that,though lamentable,at least feels age-appropriate.When someone young passes away,the blow is made worse by all the might-have-beens-what the deceased could have done,seen,and accomplished if only given more time.When the very old die,however,the loss-while still terrible for their loved ones-doesn't come with the same sense of unfulfillcd potential."It was his time"is the phrase that so ofien applies,or,"She lived a full life."But the definition of"a full life"is expanding,and the line dividing the two types of death is retreating.As life expectancies continue to change,so too will our collective ideas about death and its time-not just for talents who generation-defining songs,but also the rest of us who still have unfinished business of our own.
有两种类型的死亡：一种来得太早，让人猝不及防；另一种虽令人痛惜，但也算得上寿终正寝。当一个年轻人逝去，所有的可能都会使这一打击更加严重——如果还有时间的话，还有很多能做的、能看到的、能完成的事业。然而，当年纪很大的老人去世时，虽然这种失去对他们所爱的人来说一样是痛惜的，但是不会有同样未完成的惋惜。这时人们通常会说“这是他该去的时候了”，或“她度过了完满的一生”。但“完满的一生”的定义扩大了，两种死亡的分界线也正在退却。随着人的预期寿命的不断变化，整个社会对死亡和死亡时间的观念也随之变化——不只针对那些能写出定义时代的歌曲的天才，也针对我们这些还有自己未竟的事业的人。
