The more important words are the ones we utter on the way out. If we have time to think about them, they're literally the codas of our lives. Here are some of the most inspiring last words of all time.
1. "Oh wow. Oh wow, oh wow."
--Steve Jobs
Honestly, I hope my last words are this good--suggesting wonder and amazement during the last seconds among the living and the first seconds among--well, that's the point, right? Although, there is some possibility that Jobs was playing a last-minute cosmic joke on the rest of us. Which brings us to--
2. "This wallpaper is dreadful, one of us will have to go."
Oscar Wilde
Dry, hilarious, lasting. If you want to go out with humor, this is the way to do it. Unless--
3. "Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est."
Ludwig van Beethoven
If you view comedy from a more philosophical vantage point, these might be good last words for you. I'm pretty sure this is Latin; anyway, it means, "Applaud, my friends, the comedy is over."
4. "He smelled the garden, the yellow shield of light smote his eyes, and he whispered, 'Life is so beautiful.'"
-- Mario Puzo, The Godfather
No fair cheating--you have to have read the book, not just seen the most amazing movie of all time. Granted, Vito Corleone is a fictional character, but the sentiments here are true-life.
5. "I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have."
Leonardo da Vinci
Really? Da Vinci thought his work wasn't good enough? Forget it, none of our work is good enough. This entire website should probably shut down.
6. "Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!"
Karl Marx
That's Karl Marx: a funny, lighthearted guy from start to finish.
7. "Why do you weep? Did you think I was immortal?"
Louis XIV of France
Given that he was known as "the Sun King," and that he was one of the most powerful French monarchs--yes, some of his subjects probably did think he was immortal. But whether it was ironic or sincere, his last words packed punch.
8. "We are all going."
--President William McKinley
The third American president to be assassinated, McKinley was reportedly responding to his wife, who exclaimed as he died: "I want to go too! I want to go too!"
9. "I'm bored with it all."
Winston S. Churchill
This only makes sense given that Churchill was basically the manliest man in the history of manly men.
10. "Pardon me sir. I did not mean to do it."
Marie Antoinette
The French queen supposedly said this to one of her executioners on her way to the guillotine. She'd stepped on his foot by accident, or so they say.
11. "I love you, Janet."
--Isaac Asmiov
Asimov prophesied that his last words would reflect his devotion to his wife--and they reportedly were.
12. "I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first."
St. Thomas More
Short version: More was an English lawyer who refused to sign off on English King Henry VIII's divorce, and he wound up convicted of treason and executed as a result.