“I wrote the song in about 15 minutes, then I went home because I realized there was no point in working the rest of the day”: The quickly-written Death Cab for Cutie masterpiece that became a generational meditation on loss

Death Cab For Cutie.

An acoustic lament that has pervaded popular culture for nearly 20 years via prodigious appearances in the soundtracks of popular TV shows and movies, I Will Follow You into the Dark is indisputably Death Cab for Cutie's most well-known song.

Sitting atop the band’s streaming rankings, it’s fascinating to learn that the song, a fragile, stripped-back requiem for a departed lover, was written in an incredible 15 minutes. Its final studio recording was put down even quicker.