This list is a follow up to 20 Famous Last Words. Some of the quotes were taken from the comments, some from my own knowledge and research. The deathbed can lead people to speak with great honesty and, in many cases, humor. These quotes strike a chord with all of us as, inevitably, we will all one day be in the same position – what will you say on your deathbed?
1. Es Lebe Die Freiheit! (Long live freedom!)
Said by: Hans Scholl – German resistance leader, spoken from the guillotine, before his execution in 1943.
2. Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough!
Said by: Karl Marx, asked by his housekeeper if he had any last words.
3. I have not told half of what I saw.
Said by: Marco Polo – Venetian traveller and writer.
4. A King should die standing.
Said by: Louis XVIII, king of France. King Louis suffered from gout which left him wheelchair-bound most of his adult life.
5. Brothers! Brothers, please! This is a house of peace!
Said by: Malcom X – American human rights activist, breaking up a fight moments before he was shot.
6. Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do!
Said by: Groucho Marx
7. Hello. We’re looking in … We’re overlooking the Financial Center. Three of us. Two broken windows — Oh god! Oh g—
Said by: Kevin Cosgrove, an office worker who called for help during the 09/11 attacks and was cut off as the building collapsed around him.
8. In keeping with Channel 40′s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide.
Said by: Christine Chubbuck, 30-year-old anchorwoman, who shot herself live on the air.
9. Now I can cross the Shifting Sands.
Said by: L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz. The Shifting Sands are the impassable deserts surrounding the Land of Oz.
10. France, armée, Joséphine… (France, army, Josephine…)
Said by: Napoleon Bonaparte – Emperor of France, on his deathbed.
11. Relax — This won’t hurt.
Said by: Author Hunter S. Thompson. It was the final sentence on his suicide note.
12. Acta est fabula, plaudite! (The play is over, applaud!)
Said by: Attributed to Caesar Augustus, ruler of the Roman empire. (This phrase was commonly used to signal the end of a show in Roman theatres)
13. I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.
Said by: Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna Lynch, right before his execution in Bolivia.
14. My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go.
Said by: Oscar Wilde
15. This is a hell of a way to die.
Said by: George S. Patton, who died from a car accident, while out hunting.
16. We got a bad fire! Let’s get out – we’re burning up…
Said by: An Appolo 1 astronaut, probably Roger Chaffee. All three crew members died in a launchpad fire in 1967.
17. Home to the palace to die…
Said by: Czar Alexander II of Russia after an anarchist assassination attempt. He died of his wounds mere hours later.
18. Don’t disturb my circles!
Said by: Archimedes – Greek mathematician who was killed by the Romans, while proving geometric theorems in the sand before him.
19. Don’t let me die like this, say I said something.
Said by: Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary.
20. Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.
Said by: George Appel, a convicted murderer, was sentenced to the electric chair. He shouted these words to members of the press who were to witness his execution.
Not bad of a list, humorous, and well spent research done
My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go. – COuld have expected something less from the man… But this is slightly disturbing for me as I had an accident recently and spent 3 days on bed… This is the last thing I want to think about… But still, nice list.
Haha Love this list
I think I read quite a lot of these in the comments from the last list- gave me a weird sense of deja vu…
Liked it, these list are always interesting. This one not quite as 'entertaining' as the others. I would have felt a bit wrong saying I was entertained by a list that included 9/11 deaths and a suicide. I think the previous lists were more ironic and funny quotes but my memory may be deceiving me.
grow up man. come first in some other race of life.
guys guys —– it appears as if jason simply wanted to add a number #21 to the list, by taunting a lynch mob with stupidity….
it was a cleverness fail,
but a valliant effort (in a dumbass way) i suppose…………
No, you're really, really not
#8 and #18 are great. i think i see some repeats.or maybe i’m just remembering from the comments of the last list…nice list btw.
first one was better though.
my last words?
‘i hid the remote’
Waaaaaaaaaay cool, got my first list published
Thanks Jamie
and thanx to you for this list ^^
So you go by two names and speak in a universe of tongues…..Ah Julius….the man of many colors!!!
It REALLY DOES feel good to have a list published, doesn't it!!!
Congrats.
Hi fives!
Too cool for school, Jules!
Congratulations, guy, by whatever name you happen to be going by at the moment.
I knew some of these last words, but others were new to me. The saddest were by the victim of 9/11, because I had a friend on the first plane to smash into the WTC. So that one was personal.
The funniest, to me, is always Oscar Wilde's. Only he would be thinking about his dreadful wallpaper on his deathbed!
Wonder what I would say….. See you later?
Some of these are quite serious and touching but others show that some people can have a sense of humour even on their deathbed.
My last words would be something really geeky, like "Sorry, family, but your princess is off to another castle!"
That’s too funny!!!
Thanks for the info.. im trying to find that christine chubbuck live suicide but still no luck… any of you guys know where to watch this vid/??
No we are not disturbed human beings.
There is no video of it. This happened decades ago, before home video recorders were in existence and as it was a small local news station they didn't have many copies. Somewhat understandably, the only copies that did exist, from the station itself, were destroyed
"Chubbuck's family brought an injunction against WXLT to prevent the release of the 2" quad videotape of her suicide. The Sarasota Sheriff's Department file lists a copy of the tape seized as evidence and later released it to Christine's family along with her possessions. Since home video recording was extremely rare in 1974, that tape was (or is) likely the only record of the incident; its fate is unknown."
Why would anybody want to watch that though?
Same reason people listen to the Jonestown tape, it's disturbing and surreal in a way. I personally wouldn't want to view this woman's suicide though, out of respect.
Re: the Jonestown event. I remember it happening. I was a San Franciscan at the time, and everyone knew the Peoples Church before it left for Guyana. It was our councilman who took the crew down to Jonestown to investigate the rumors, and the more than rumors, the eye-witness accounts from those who had left and returned to the US.
I had given birth to my daughter exactly one month before the mass suicide/murder, the first victim of which was a one month old girl.
After the discovery of the extent of the deaths, I had nightmares for five years. All of the nightmares zeroed in on that first child, who morphed into my child. I was crazy about safety for those years, beyond the norm.
Those poor people were hypnotized, brainwashed, and the children never had a chance.
Jim Jones was a devil.
any of you guys know where to watch this vid/??
If you really must see something like this, look up Budd Dwyer.
aaahhh the last words…… sometimes like the résumé of a whole life…..
Well, when you have the time to say something of course… and you need some witnesses too…. mmmh that's complicated…
Great list btw ^^
my last words…………………………… METAL UP YOUR ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!! ………………..or…BOOBS!!!
no no wait scratch that it'll probably be " you know that coffin size safe under my bed ? I want you to dump it in the lake but whatever you do- dont let anyone find it and dont dare look inside……bloorghhhch cough cough argggh " "oh no oh no bluesman are you dead?" "'no just because soembody goes bloorghhhch cough cough argggh dosent mean they are dead , no do what i told you aaaaarghg…"
Nice list Julius! I liked the previous, too.
I'm going to have to try think of an extremely witty comment soon so I can remember to say it.
"I didn't see that coming.." – hit by a bus.
Does anyone have last words that they are going to say?
Does anyone have last words that they are going to say?
“I wonder what tomorrow’s list was going to be.”
thee ar esome of my chocies:
the purple elves finnaly beat my army of string
I HAVE BOOBIES
i say these words: BLARG IM DEAD
BLARG IM DEAD
on top of a waffle, all covered in butter…
i always hoped i would die in a epic battle against space donosaur piarates from the cupcake galaxy…
hmm, death is such a…a…. thingy thats… ummmm… full of death? oh well, t-t-t-t-thats all folks!
#19 is commonly attributed to Pancho Villa, rather than Zapata.
Yes, you are quite right. Could you please fix that mistake JFrater?
Who was the famous playwrite or author whose last words were "Oh dear, I see a black light?" It always made me think that they were going to be in a whole heap of ***** if there was an afterlife.
I couldn't find this exact quote, but you might be thinking of "Turn up the lights — I don't want to go home in the dark." – O. Henry; "More Light" – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; "This is the fight of day and night. I see black light." – Victor Hugo; these are the only ones I could find concerning light and poets/writers
It was the Victor Hugo quote I was thinking of. I didn't know of the first sentence in the quote. Thanks for that Julius & congrats on the list…..
The Victor Hugo quote always reminds me of a poem by Henry Vaughan which played a great part in an event in my life,
" I saw Eternity the other night
Like a great ring of pure and endless light.
All calm, as it was bright…"…and it continues.
It's a wonderful little poem. I recommend anyone who doesn't it, look it up.
Is 6 true?
Yes, he probably got his inspiration from former British prime minister Lord Palmerston, who allegedly said something similar on his deathbed.
That is absolutely perfect, for Groucho Marx to say that as his last words.
"Die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do!"
The best, imo.
Pretty interesting list
You are first. First place in being a douche. Congrats. You're prize ie when you die you're last words will be "really i'm the first?" after doing something incredibly un-noteworthy and in which case you are not the first anyway.
well if i can add a bonus one: gandhi said "hey ram" transalting to "oh lord" jsut as he was shot to death by Nathuram Godse… it may not be globally known i agree but pretty famous in India
"Alas, all the quarters in the world cannot buy me another life. Game Over."
Yup, that's what I'm gonna say.
Dammit. I accidentally voted down for that instead of up. So give yourself a plus two there. Sorry buddy
Geeky… I love it!
Thank you very much, Julius, for submitting this list. I find it very touching that I read these words. The tone felt like resignation, hopelesness and dead pan humor. I wonder what it felt like when you’re dying and you can only utter these words.
No. 7 is pretty disturbing, and I find #8, quite disturbing too, but upon repeat reading, there is dark humor written over it.
My last words would be, even not a famous ”love listverse”.
wew!nice list…im wondering,what would be george w bush last words?erm…
You sir, are an idiot.
His will be "Let me finish this hot dog"
Or "let me finish this pretzel"
I'm George W. Bush, and I approve this message. "Tacos rule!"
Mission Accomplished.
Wha? Thats all?
Really good list, my favorite is 19. Brillant, haha.
Not sure about the humour however it was still quite interesting.
I'm logged in yet I'm treated as guest
Listverse is a well mannered host…
Maybe you should cry about it
that picture of the grecian looking dude on the bed with his right foot covered is lord byron. i was expecting to see lord byron's last words here. disappointment much.
"Now I shall go to sleep. Goodnight."
Said by: Lord Byron
Great list.
‘michelle did it…’ said by laurie show as her mother found her with a slash on the neck and blood pulsating out. She was just revealing who her killer was.
I love this list! Wondering if I've got a morbid sense of humour or what…
Makes me wonder what the last words will be of famous people these days…
I find this amazing. In the face of the great unifier and you still think about famous people? Why should it matter.
Makes me wonder what the last words will be of famous people these days
We can debate all day as to the level of fame lauded upon over-the-hill ex-hair band rockers, but I got a chuckle out of Bret Michaels' quote when he was recently hospitalized for a near-fatal brain hemorrhage – he insisted on donning his trademark headband and said “if I'm going to go out, I want to go out rockin'!". Alas, he appears to be on the road to recovery, but I thought he covered himself quite well with that death-bed line!
why is there a picture of lord byron, and not his last words
Oscar Wilde is also reported to have said something like, with reference to the cost of his hotel room, "I shall have to die as I lived: beyond my means".
I said elsewhere on this site that my last words are probably going to be "Oh, I forgot to tell you …".
Yeah but u have to be certain you will die cuz they’ll figure out ur bluffing.
et tu Brute?
Yes, #6 is sadly true. If you go to another Listverse List, I don't remember the exact title, about recordings you can hear the actual recording of his call. It is very difficult to listen too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz5WYf2346A&fe…
This video is not recommended for the faint of heart/stomach, it is very disturbing.
poor poor man. and the rest of them aswell. no one, not even the bastards who orderd this, deserved that kind of death.
although I believe the 911 call is authentic, the video is a loop of the burning tower and is not "real time" footage…watch the smoke carefully and you will notice it too…
Now I noticed it too, but the video part of the clip isn't really important anyway, the conversation alone is disturbing enough.
Yeah I thought of that as I was reading it. Gave me chills all over again when I remembered hearing it
”You sir, are an idiot.”-lord calvert… Is it me,you,george bush or someone else?whiew…
Interesting list buddy.
jfrater pliz give us more than 1 list per day. i go nuts waiting for 24 hours for the next list to be posted.
Get a job!
Great list! Some were funny and some were disturbing but all were significant.
I know my last words won't be pretty….something along the lines of what Bender would say:
"Bite my shiny metal ass!"
7, 18, 19 and 20 were hilarious… Cool list…
How the hell is # 7 funny?
Pretty sure it was a typo and she meant to say 6….
Wow, the 9/11 one really got to me.
Thoughts of a dying atheist
The most famous last words (as quoted by the 2000 year old man from the Stone Age by Mel Brooks): "Hey, whatcha doin' with that rock? Put down that rock, man!"
Skrillah: i would if i could get one.sadly im not a highly intelligent smart ass like you.and i’m still in college.
i just enjoy LV a lot…almost all the people here do. in fact i should be telling you to get a job instead of making silly diggs at people.
GET A JOB SKRILLAH!
cool list! but so sad they're all dead.
Here are a couple of quotes about last words:
A lot of people, on the verge of death, utter famous last words or stiffen into attitudes, as if the final stiffening in three day's time were not enough; they will have ceased to exist three days hence, yet they still want to arouse admiration and adopt a pose and tell a lie with their last gasp.
–Henry de Montherlant, 1931
How do people choose their final words? Do they realize their gravity? Are they fated to be wise? By his 83rd birthday, Eddie had lost nearly everyone he'd cared about. Some had died young, and some had
been given a chance to grow old before a disease or an accident took them away.
At their funerals, Eddie listen as mourners recalled their final conversations. "It's as if he knew he was going to die. . . ." some would say.
Eddie never believed that. As far as he could tell, when your time came, it came, and that was that. You might say something smart on your way out, but you might just as easily say something stupid.
–Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven [2003], "The End"
"what will you say on your deathbed?"
What a repulsive question. To answer it however:
Old, grizzled, my fading skin hanging loosely from my bones, I shall start up in bed, shakingly, as all my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and my loving wife beg me not to over-exert myself. Raising one trembling fist to the heavens, I shall draw in my last gasping breath, and with one final roar I shall cry:
"LEGALISE BESTIALITY"
Then, I shall die. To sleep, perchance to dream… of *****ing animals.
Great to see that your back Woyzek, you foul mouthed coot. We have missed you.
More last words, apologies if they've already been cited:
Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
See in what peace a Christian can die.
Astor, Lady Nancy (1879-1964)
Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying?
(Seeing all her children assembled at her bedside in her last illness. )
Beecher, Henry Ward (1813-1887)
Now comes the mystery.
Danton, Georges-Jacques (1759-1794)
Thou wilt show my head to the people; it is worth showing.
(To his executioner, 5 April 1794)
Eastman, George (1854-1932)
My work is done, why wait?
(His suicide note.)
George V (1865-1936)
Gentlemen, I am so sorry for keeping you waiting like this. I am
unable to concentrate.
(Words spoken on his death-bed, reported in memorandum by Lord Wigram, 20 January 1936)
Heine, Heinrich (1797-1856)
Dieu me pardonnera. C'est son m‚tier.
[God will pardon me. It is his trade.]
Housman, A. E. (1859-1936)
That is indeed very good. I shall have to repeat that on the Golden Floor!
(To his doctor, who told him a joke just before he died.)
I especially like the reason behind Danton's last words – he was a pig-ugly mother*****er. This was also part of the reason his famous portrait was commisioned – he wanted to show everyone exactly how ugly he was.
*****, I hate Danton's Death. I had to read that stupid play in high school, seriously annoying.
I think mine would be something like "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!"
Hunter S. Thompson. What a rascal.
I'm loving Groucho's quote. Nice list!
May I add a number 21 to the list of famous last words?
"Watch this!"
I heard Oscar Wilde said his quote a few days before he died. I'm sure he said a few more words before his final days then, so depending on how you classify LAST words…
Seeing that the voice recorder business wasn't particularly big in 1897 we don't know 100%. The other things that "might" have been his last words are also pretty cool though: "I am dying beyond my means," and, "I can’t even afford to die."
As a matter of fact, we can't be sure about a lot of these, but I'd like to think that they were all completely true.
Enjoyed the read – interesting
You misspelled Apollo, but still a fun list.
13. " Sé que has venido para matarme. Dispara cobarde, que sólo vas a matar a un hombre " in spanish!!
I want my last words to be cheerful and full of hope. Maybe something in the line of this:
“ha brazil wont win this WC either.”
My daughter has, as her status, "Brazil…….lost?"
So I changed my status, "Brazil is still next to peru, as always."
I have a book of quotes by Robert Byrne, and in it, it has this:
My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go. – Almost certainly not the last words of Oscar Wilde.
Hmmm. Anyway, great list. A nice, easy read on a very hectic morning.
I bet that a lot of these people's last word where 'nurse, it's happening again'
many thanks to Jimmy Carr of QI for that joke
Most of them were hilariously ironic.
Except for number 7. That one to me was just horrible. Considering most of these are seen as a joke, that one CAN NOT be taken as a joke and it was just awful what happened to that person.
It's okay though, I'll go QQ elsewhere right now.
Good list. Wish Voltaire would have been included, though.
He was on the previous list. For all the readers who might care here are Voltaire's last words again
"Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies."
Said by: Voltaire when asked by a priest to renounce Satan.
The 9/11 and Apollo 1 quotes are tragic. The Marco Polo quote is inspiring.