Lyric discussion by reginaldcranmer 

Cover art for The '59 Sound lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

i feel like he's asking his friend, "what's it like to die?"- as most people have a lot of anxiety over the thought-

"did you hear the '59 sound" = was it like being a kid again? "did you hear the rattling chains" = were you burdened by and judged on everything you did wrong? "did you hear the old gospel choir" = was it a generic white light and 'hallelujah' moment? "did you hear your favorite song" = was it comfortable and everything you knew if would be?

for some reason the line "did you hear your favorite song one last time" always breaks my heart