I'll be making music 'til the day I die. I've done all kinds of

Hear the immortal voice of Eddie Van Halen, who once proclaimed: “I’ll be making music ’til the day I die. I’ve done all kinds of stuff, and more is coming.” In this simple yet thunderous declaration lies the soul of an artist who understood that creation is not a pastime, but a calling. To him, music was not just sound, but breath itself—an unbroken rhythm of life that would beat within him until his final moment. His words are not boast, but vow, the kind of vow sung by those who know their destiny is bound to their craft.

The ancients too honored those who labored until death in the service of their gifts. The sculptor Phidias, who carved gods into marble, labored until his final days, leaving statues that outlived empires. The poet Homer, though veiled in mystery, was remembered not for wealth or power, but for words that endured beyond his mortal span. So it is with Van Halen: his life was not measured in years but in songs, not in silence but in the eternal chords of his guitar.

Eddie’s words also remind us of the boundless nature of creativity. “I’ve done all kinds of stuff, and more is coming.” Even after decades of revolutionizing rock, he did not see his work as finished. True creators never believe their fountain has run dry, for inspiration flows like a river—sometimes gentle, sometimes torrential, but always moving forward. This is the mark of greatness: not to rest upon past glories, but to hunger for new horizons, to create even when the world believes you have given enough.

Consider also the story of Leonardo da Vinci, who, though old and frail, still filled notebooks with sketches, designs, and ideas that he could never complete. Death could not silence his vision, for his mind was ablaze with invention until his final breath. Like Van Halen, Leonardo knew that the spirit of creation cannot be shut away; it spills forth endlessly, so long as life remains. Their message is the same: to live is to create, and to create is to live.

There is heroism in this relentless pursuit. Many retreat in their later years, content with what they have achieved. But Eddie’s vow is one of defiance against decline. To declare, “I will make music until I die,” is to proclaim that passion knows no age, that inspiration bows to no grave. It is to choose a life aflame until the very end, rather than one dimmed by resignation. His words inspire us to imagine lives lived fully, without surrender, without silence.

Yet there is also humility in his vision. Eddie does not say, “I have done all, and I am finished.” He says instead, “More is coming.” This is not arrogance, but devotion to the ever-unfinished work of art. The master knows that creation is infinite, and his role is only to channel a fragment of it before passing the torch to others. His legacy is not just in his past songs, but in the eternal promise of more to come, even beyond his death, through those who were inspired by his fire.

The lesson is clear: cling to your passion until your last breath. Let no season of life rob you of the craft that makes your heart beat. Like Eddie, do not dwell only in your past triumphs, but seek always to create anew. Whether in art, in love, in service, or in wisdom, declare each day: “More is coming.” For it is not the trophies of yesterday that sustain the spirit, but the vision of tomorrow.

So let the vow of Eddie Van Halen endure: “I’ll be making music ’til the day I die.” Children of tomorrow, take this teaching to heart. Find that fire within you which is truly yours, and let it burn through all your days. Do not silence it, do not retire from it—carry it with you until the very end. For in the end, it is not wealth or applause that makes life eternal, but the song you leave behind, still echoing when your voice has fallen silent.