From the Middle Ages to the present, cultural attitudes toward death have been distinguished into the four periods by the French historian Philippe Aries. These periods are stated in his book, "Western Attitudes Toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present (1974)." They are described as the Tamed Death, My Death, Thy Death, and Forbidden Death. However, these periods are not fully independent from one another. It is also possible to see the influences of these attitudes toward death in today's world.

The "My Death" or "One's Own Death" period emerged at the beginning of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but we can see its influence on many songs that have been published during in 20th and 21st centuries. The correlation between the “My Death" period and the song "If I Die Sudden" by John Mellencamp (2008) will be analyzed below. During the "My Death" period, people were not afraid of death. They felt themselves near to death and they believed that Christ would judge the dying person according to their good or bad deeds. Moreover, in this period people strongly believed in heaven, purgatory, and hell.

"If I die sudden,

… Just put me in a pine box

Six feet underground,

…And the rest of my family

Will be waiting there for me too,

… I'm not afraid of dying."

 The lyrics of "If I Die Sudden" are stated above. We can see many influences from the "My Death" period in the song by John Mellencamp. He has mentioned heaven, fearlessness of death, and burial places. 

 To conclude, the song "If I Die Sudden" expresses the "My Death" attitude towards death mentalities from the middle ages to the present.