The Longer I Live from Dracula: The Musical - Words and Music by Don Black (b. 1938), Christopher Hampton (b. 1946) and Frank Wildhorn (b. 1958)

Based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Longer I Live is sung by the title character. In the story of Dracula, Jonathan Harker takes a trip to stay in Dracula’s castle on a business trip. Harker eventually discovers that Dracula is a vampire, and escapes. Eventually, he involves Abraham Van Helsing, who ultimately hunts and kills Dracula, alongside others from the village of Whitby and Harker’s fiancée, Mina. During the exchange, Dracula drinks Mina’s blood and forces her to drink his, destining her to become a vampire unless Dracula is killed.

The song The Longer I Live is the moment when Dracula falls in love with Mina. The musical itself a very real picture of the “bad guy” of the story having a human qualities. This really creates a sense of pity for what the villain has gone through, and at times encourages you to support the villain rather than the original hero of the story. This musical takes this concept to the extreme, depicting a crying Mina holding Dracula’s body at the end, after having killed him at his own request.