# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/81 "2007-09-08T03:54:40Z")
One of the very best songs I’ve ever heard about getting older is \*\*Ripples \*\*by Genesis. [Link to the lyrics](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Genesis/Ripples.html) Here is the chorus: Sail away, away Ripples never come back. They’ve gone to the other side. Look into the pool, Ripples never come back, Dive to the bottom and go to the top To see where they have gone Oh, they’ve gone to the other side… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/82 "2007-09-08T04:01:22Z")
[Waiting On a Friend](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rolling+stones/waiting+on+a+friend_20118166.html) by the Rolling Stones - more about growing up rather than growing old. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/83 "2007-09-08T04:12:05Z")
[Try to Remember](http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thefantasticks/trytoremember.htm) from The Fantasticks. I like the Harry Belafonte version, available from iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/84 "2007-09-08T04:16:36Z")
“Hello In There” by John Prine and covered by a few other people. (In fact, anything by John Prine would qualify. He hasn’t been big for a long time now.) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/85 "2007-09-08T04:38:15Z")
Has anyone mentioned [“Where Do We Go From Here?”](http://www.lyrics007.com/Alan%20Parsons%20Project,%20The%20Lyrics/Where%20Do%20We%20Go%20From%20Here%20Lyrics.html) by the Alan Parsons Project? > [@](#): > > where do we go from here > now that all of the children are grown up > and how do we spend our lives > if there’s no one to give us a hand > > i don’t wanna live here no more > i don’t wanna stay > ain’t gonna spend the rest of my life > quietly fading away ---
**Author:** ![Eolbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@Eolbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eolbo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/86 "2007-09-08T11:34:24Z")
There’s “Lather” by Jefferson Airplane: > [@](#): > > **LATHER** > > Lather was thirty years old today, > They took away all of his toys. > His mother sent newspaper clippings to him, > About his old friends who’d stopped being boys. > There was Harwitz E. Green, just turned thirty-three, > His leather chair waits at the bank. > And Sergeant Dow Jones, twenty-seven years old, > Commanding his very own tank. > But Lather still finds it a nice thing to do, > To lie about nude in the sand, > Drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps, > And thrashing the air with his hands. > > But wait, oh Lather’s productive you know, > He produces the finest of sound, > Putting drumsticks on either side of his nose, > Snorting the best licks in town, > But that’s all over… > > Lather was thirty years old today, > And Lather came foam from his tongue. > He looked at me eyes wide and plainly said, > Is it true that I’m no longer young? > And the children call him famous, > what the old men call insane, > And sometimes he’s so nameless, > That he hardly knows which game to play… > Which words to say… > And I should have told him, “No, you’re not old.” > And I should have let him go on…smiling…being wise. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/87 "2007-09-08T12:12:02Z")
**Queen** - _Good Company_ _These are the Days of Our Lives_ ---
**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 8, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/88 "2007-09-08T15:54:01Z")
**The End** , by The Doors \*This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end Ill never look into your eyes…again Can you picture what will be So limitless and free Desperately in need…of some…strangers hand In a…desperate land \* ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/89 "2007-09-08T17:06:32Z")
Jimmy Buffet again _A Pirate Looks at 40_ mother mother ocean after all the years I’ve found occupational hazard is my occupation just not around Pink Floyd _Time_ and you run and you run to catch up with the sun but its sinking and racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way but you’re older shorter of breath and one day closer to death ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/90 "2007-09-08T17:27:11Z")
“First of May” by the BeeGees When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall, we used to love while others used to play. Don’t ask me why, but time has passed us by, someone else moved in from far away. “Puff the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul & Mary A dragon lives forever, But not little girls and boys. Painted wings and giant rings Make way for other toys. One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more And Puff that mighty dragon, He ceased his fearless roar. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/91 "2007-09-08T23:05:14Z")
Dar Williams **You’re Aging Well:** \*They say “I’m so glad that you finally made it here,” “You thought nobody cared, but I did, I could tell,” And “This is your year,” and “It always starts here,” And oh-oh oh-oh-oh oh-oh, “You’re aging well.” \* ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/92 "2007-09-08T23:16:05Z")
1985 by Bowling for Soup “Debbie just hit the wall She never had it all One Prozac a day Husband’s a CPA Her dreams went out the door When she turned twenty four Only been with one man What happen to her plan?” Walk on the Ocean by Toad the Wet Sprocket “…we don’t even have pictures just memories to hold that grow sweeter each season as we slowly grow old” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/93 "2007-09-08T23:24:05Z")
How about “Sunrise, Sunset” from _Fiddler on the Roof?_ ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/94 "2007-09-09T01:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] A more cheerful song – \* Growing Older But Not Up \* by Jimmy Buffet. I’m growing older but not up My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck Let those winds of time blow over my head I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead [/QUOTE] One of the two that came to mind immediately. That and ‘A Pirate Looks at 40’: \*Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen Most of 'em dream, most of 'em dream Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothin’ to plunder I’m an over-forty victim of fate Arriving too late, arriving too late I’ve done a bit of smugglin’, I’ve run my share of grass I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast Never meant to last, never meant to last And I have been drunk now for over two weeks I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks But I got stop wishin’, got to go fishin’ Down to rock bottom again Just a few friends, just a few friends \* ---
**Author:** ![Miscue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Miscue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miscue)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/95 "2007-09-09T02:53:17Z")
‘The End of the Movie’ by Cake is relevant and funny and awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/96 "2007-09-09T03:24:14Z")
One of the most poignant I can think of: _September Song_ (the Jimmy Durante version). \*When I was a young man, caught in the girls, I played me a waiting game. If a maid refused me with tossin curls, I let the old earth take a couple of whirls. While I apply her with tears in lieu of pearls. And as time came around, she came my way, And as time came around, she came. Oh its a long, long while, from May to December But the days grow short, when you reach September. When the autum weather, turns the leaves to flame, One hasn’t got time, for the waiting game. Oh, the days, dwindle down, to a precious few. September. November. And these few precious days, I’ll spend with you. These precious days, I’ll spend with you. Oh, the days dwindle down, to a precious few. September. November. And these few precious days, I’ll spend with you. These precious days, I’ll spend with you.\* ---
**Author:** ![Ermes\_Marana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@Ermes\_Marana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ermes_Marana)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/97 "2007-09-09T05:01:34Z")
If you count someone who thinks they are getting old at 27, this is a great song: Herman Düne - Not on Top _I feel a little strange Feels like I’ll never get my shit together 27 and I’m fucked Well, it’s 10 years from teenage and that’s a freaking lot I think I’m getting old and I thought I’d never say that I bought Nevermind and it changed my life some fifteen years ago I thought my little sister would never ever make it out of high school and go looking for jobs (yeah right)_ ---
**Author:** ![8675309](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ea5d25/32.png) [@8675309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/8675309)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/98 "2007-09-09T05:11:46Z")
Mother’s Little Helper (What a drag it is getting old…) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/99 "2007-09-09T07:41:16Z")
Two pages and no one’s mentioned Cat Stevens - _Cats In The Cradle_? ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359/100 "2007-09-09T07:55:49Z")
Reverend Billy C. Wirtz - Hey You, Get Off Of My Lawn [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-getting-older/418359.md?page=6)