# Songs about getting older? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359 "2007-09-07T14:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/61 "2007-09-07T21:16:11Z")
Perhaps “I won’t grow up” from “Peter Pan”? [http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-Original-Broadway-Recording/dp/B000002W5G/ref=pd\_krex\_po\_t/105-7694480-9530850](http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-Original-Broadway-Recording/dp/B000002W5G/ref=pd_krex_po_t/105-7694480-9530850) ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/62 "2007-09-07T21:25:50Z")
_The Circle Game_, performed by Tom Rush don’t remember if he wrote it _Clouds_, by Joni Mitchell…Not exactly about aging, but close _Send in the Clowns_, Judy Collins? _Turn Around_, by Nanci Griffith ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/63 "2007-09-07T21:30:00Z")
**Dust in the Wind** , by _Kansas_ ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/64 "2007-09-07T21:31:38Z")
maybe these… Little Feat - Old Folks Boogie Jefferson Airplane - Lather Cat Stevens - Old Schoolyard ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/65 "2007-09-07T21:32:20Z")
OK, it’s Joni Mitchell who wrote _The Circle Game_ and Stephen Sondheim wrote _Send in the Clowns_ I always found the last verse of_Send in the Clowns_ particularly moving Isn’t it rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing this late in my career But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns Well, maybe next year. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/66 "2007-09-07T21:35:25Z")
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle] “Silver Threads Among The Gold”, a very sentimental song from 1873. “Darling, I am growing old, Silver threads among the gold Shine upon my brow today; Life is fading fast away” A 1912 recording: [Silver Threads Among The Gold : Elsie Baker : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/SilverThreadsAmongTheGoldbyElsieBaker) [/QUOTE] What a great find! Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/67 "2007-09-07T22:16:36Z")
**Shine On You Crazy Diamond** by _Pink Floyd_ “Remember when you were young, you shined like the sun…” ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/68 "2007-09-07T22:21:44Z")
No love for Ed Pickford’s _Oldest Swinger in Town_? _Here you come with your lips closed tight You never smile, you know it wouldn’t look right 'Cause your dentures glow in ultraviolet light You’re the oldest swinger in town_ ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/69 "2007-09-07T22:32:31Z")
Here’s a MUST INCLUDE! **When You’re Old and Grey** by T_om Lehrer_ \*Since I still appreciate you, Let’s find love while we may. Because I know I’ll hate you When you are old and gray. \* Full lyrics here: [Songtext: Tom Lehrer – When You're Old and Grey Lyrics | MusikGuru](http://www.golyr.de/tom-lehrer/songtext-when-youre-old-and-grey-641238.html) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/70 "2007-09-07T22:54:31Z")
Dream On Aerosmith Every time when I look in the mirror All these lines on my face getting clearer The past is gone it went by, like dusk to dawn Isn’t that the way Everybody’s got the dues in life to pay ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/71 "2007-09-07T23:40:26Z")
**Dog And Butterfly** , by Heart _We’re getting older, the world is getting colder For the life of me, I don’t know the reason why. Maybe it’s livin’ makin’ us give in._ ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/72 "2007-09-07T23:43:13Z")
George Burns ‘I Wish I Was Eighteen Again’ [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3c-WBn5cCg) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/73 "2007-09-07T23:48:35Z")
Here’s a real obscure one for you: **I’ve Been To Town** , by Rod McKuen, a good version of which was sung by Glen Yarbrough about 40 years ago. I’ve been to town I’ve walked the boulevards and on the beach I’ve learned some things that only time can teach You ask me why it is I frown I guess it’s 'cause I’ve been to town. You might also look for “Seasons In The Sun”, which I think was a Jacques Brel song. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/74 "2007-09-08T00:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=1iLeft] Landslide by Stevie Nicks. The Dixie Chicks covered it fabulisly as well. Either rendition can bring a tear to my eye fast and hard. [/QUOTE] Came in to mention this specifically. I also love either version. That song makes me very melancholy, but in a good way. That doesn’t make any sense, I know. But it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/75 "2007-09-08T01:11:00Z")
_This Old Man_ by MC Frontalot: \*Keep getting older and hairier on my neck, back and derriere but not atop the pate. dear DNA, let’s negotiate! I’ll trade the fading vision, you could have that back plus this 30-year-old-man belly’s kinda wack. my hearing is nearing deafness and I wheeze. yo please save me from the wrist hurt disease. it’s infeasible that these, a full list of ailments should do anything but accrue. I’ll fail ten times out of ten to age in reverse like mork. is there anything sadder than a dork for whom the new hotness is not just inaccessible, it’s grumbled against? you kids, reduce your decibels! don’t make me come over there and shake my cane. [it’s that rapper from the a.a.r.p. and he insane!]\* Full lyrics here. You can find the song at the iTunes Store. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/76 "2007-09-08T01:49:03Z")
Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce If I could save Time in a bottle The first thing that I’d like to do Is to save every day Til Eternity passes away Just to spend them with you ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/77 "2007-09-08T02:53:07Z")
[Poems Prayers and Promises](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3faCnqJsmw) by John Denver. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/78 "2007-09-08T03:19:53Z")
**Alma,** I’ve been thinking about mentioning “The Living Years” by Mike + The Mechanics. I don’t know if it might be too much of a downer, it’s about a man who had a distant relationship with his father and couldn’t tell him how he felt before the old man passed on. It’s about the importance of telling your loved ones how you feel about them before time slips away from you. Depending if your friend’s father is still alive or what kind of relationship the two have, it could be a painful song to hear. Here are the [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/mike+%26+the+mechanics/the+living+years_20093565.html). You can determine if you think it’s an appropriate song to add to your disc. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend it if the lyrics might hit a little close to home. You know your friend better than I, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to include it . ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/79 "2007-09-08T03:21:37Z")
The best song about growing old and no one has gone to their Pink Floyd album collection to find the best track on the _Obscured by Clouds_ album? What the hell, I dusted mine off yesterday. Try [Wots…uh the Deal](http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/wots-the-deal-obscured-lyrics.html). You have to hear it when you are getting older, but not old. I tried to find a video for it, YouTube has some, but they all suck. Try at your risk. Also, there is the ageless song about being aged, A Pirate Looks at Forty, by Jimmy Buffet. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/80 "2007-09-08T03:41:22Z")
I have for the past couple of years given out CDs for significant birthdays (usually 60th), with the following playlist. Most of the titles are self-explanatory, and the few that aren’t show up well in the listening: Old — Paul Simon 2:15 I’m an Old, Old Man — Merle Haggard 2:25 Old and in the Way — Old and in the Way 3:03 People My Age — John Gorka 2:00 Twilight of our Years — Peter Ostroushko 5:56 We’re all gonna die someday — Kasey Chambers 1:58 Happy to Be Here at All — Todd Snider 2:07 Singin’ The Dinosaur Blues — Jerry Jeff Walker 3:20 Hank Senior Moment — John Gorka 1:51 Secret to a long life — Michelle Shocked 3:44 Dirty Little War — Michael Jerling 3:33 Alice — Cheryl Wheeler 3:44 Time to Go Inward — Rodney Crowell 4:59 The Dutchman — Steve Goodman 4:06 If I Had Known — Greg Brown 3:20 Can’t Make up my Mind — John Gorka 4:03 Time Marches On Dr. John w/ Willie & B.B. 4:06 Nobody’s Here Anymore — John Fogarty with Mark Knopfler 3:50 I’m Gonna Go To Viagra Before it Falls — Paul Thorn 3:15 Babylon’s a-fallin’ — Doyle Lawson 2:01 When I Grow Up — Michelle Shocked 3:29 Hawks and Doves — Neil Young 3:18 In My Hour of Darkness — Gram Parsons 3:43 All this fits nicely on a CD and gives a variety of styles - mostly folk to some pretty rockin’ stuff to country to bluegrass to gospel. Tone ranges from humorous to wistful. For younger old folks, I put Bill Morrissey’s “Fifty” in the first song’s place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359.md?page=5)