The Songs About Getting Older

[nyadrn]

""Hope I die before I get old," sang 21-year-old Roger Daltrey in 1965—and 43 years later, he's still singing it. Rock 'n' roll has always been invested in a Byronic cult of blazing youth and beautiful corpses. But as tyros have turned into reunion-tour warhorses, rockers have had to come to terms with the ironies—and the indignities and the glories—of old age."

What are the songs that talk about getting older, looking back, etc?

[Winter2025VA]

The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell (1970).

Lyric: "And the seasons, they go round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down."

Joni Mitchell's heartfelt reflection on aging reminds us that life is a continuous cycle of seasons. It encourages us to embrace the ebb and flow of time, recognizing the beauty and inevitability of change.

[1968Hoya46]

Looking Back: Nat King Cole

[dl73698250]

Red Foley; Too Old To Cut The Mustard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwfmfzUXFlI

[1968Hoya46]

Teach Your Children: CSN&Y  (This post just may win the award for number of previous posts. I'd like to thank the Academy...)

[dl73698250]

Randy Stonehill - Turning Thirty  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIglXtl4ok&list=PLPcTOx34g9XSrfWx19JEvZ0h3DrYmPNIq&index=8

[1968Hoya46]

Old Rivers: Walter Brennan  (a song designed to make the listener tear up)

[BeatleloverKT]

Sixty years on, Sir Elton

[1968Hoya46]

Eleanor Rigby: Beatles

[dl73698250]

"Hope I die before I get old," sang 21-year-old Roger Daltrey in 1965?  I guess he doesn't feel old yet. Some say age is just a number. But, it's more subjective than that. How old do YOU feel? Garth Brooks had a good take on it; Much Too Young To Feel This **bleep** Old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIHWhUVxJh8

[dl73698250]

A good one is Bellamy Brothers, Old Hippie Trilogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJt4v3agH0M

[1968Hoya46]

All By Myself: Eric Carmen   (He took youth for granted; now learning that being  old and alone ain’t so great)

[KellytheBelly]

Older - They Might Be Giants 

You're older than you've ever been
And now you're even older
And now you're even older
And now you're even older.
You're older than you've ever been
And now you're even older,
And now you're older still.

Time!... is marching on,
And time... is still marching on.

This day will soon be at an end
And now it's even sooner
And now it's even sooner
And now it's even sooner
This day will soon be at an end
And now it's even sooner
And now it's sooner still.

You're older than you've ever been
And now you're even older
And now you're even older
And now you're even older.
You're older than you've ever been
And now you're even older,
And now you're older still.

[dl73698250]

That reminds me...Great Big Sea had a song with a line that said, "...and every day you're in this place, you're two days nearer death.".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edAxujKev1I

[RossM846371]

Amanda,  first by Don Williams and then taken home by Waylon Jennings is all about growing older.  The song is so simple and elegant that many have trouble holding back tear.   

[RossM846371]

I have to give kudos to the writer of the song Amanda:  It was Bob McDill in 1973.    

[dl73698250]

Perry Como; Sunrise Sunset

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWVwVTFAs4c&list=PLFtX5MJhMdfd8xeqEyyXQGhKNcgz4LBQp&index=22

[dl73698250]

another not obvious one, Big Pig; I Can't Break Away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rfXVdYelA

[dl73698250]

Al Stewart; Time Passages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCJkbrQF88A

[dl73698250]

It might not be obvious at first; but this really is about getting older. Also, it exemplifies the difference between intentional distortion (fuzz guitar) and unintentional distortion (lack of clarity) in music. This song has subtle nuanced sound effects that can't be appreciated with unintentional distortion (playback or recorded). It requires High Fidelity/clarity/quality sound reproduction to discern the difference between non-musical sounds and noise. It's a very good song.

Jefferson Airplane; Lather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVstafKZDYY

[dl73698250]

Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o

[Anonymous]

👴👵A Touch of Grey - The Grateful Dead.

[Anonymous]

👴👵When I'm 64 - The Beatles.

[dl73698250]

Vitamin C; Graduation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_NxOF7RB4

[dl73698250]

Lulu; To Sir With Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur30bn_3G58

[dl73698250]

Eric Burdon & The Animals; When I Was Young

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur30bn_3G58

[dl73698250]

Jim Croce; Photographs & Memories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSJgWLSb0R0

[dl73698250]

Marmalade; Reflections Of My Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTeI65yrhGw

[BobH07]

W.O.L.D. :  Harry Chapin

[sweetjulieblueeyes52]

Wasted on the Way - CSN