Eldersongs

April 29, 2017

When did you stop listening to pop music? It’s such a big deal when we’re young. That’s when it’s talking right to us, exploring all the joy and angst of youth and romance. Then we grow up, get on with our lives, and tune it out. It’s not talking to us anymore. And yet all the changes and emotions we experience as we age make for a rich, complex stew that seems like perfect material for songs. Wouldn’t you love to hear songs that speak to us about our lives again? The problem is, you pretty much have to get to old age to understand it, and there aren’t too many elderly songwriters around. Younger people are doing the songwriting, and when they do write about aging, they tend to fall back on stereotypes. Most of the songs are either overly sentimental or downright cruel. Anyway, I went digging to see what songs I could find that reach beyond the stereotypes, and capture some of the genuine experience of growing old, from the older person’s point of view. Here are a few songs that resonated with me:

  • Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Arthritis blues. Written by a true sufferer.
  • Dave Evans, Be proud of the gray in your hair. Bluegrass classic. Get up and live your life; nobody else is going to do it for you.
  • Joni Mitchell, Both sides now. Joni Mitchell wrote and first recorded this insightful, poetic song as a young woman. “It’s life’s illusions I recall; I really don’t know life at all”, she admits. Many years later, with a lifetime of experience manifest in her now deep, husky voice, she recorded it again, and the message still holds true.
  • Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold, I remember it well. In this tender, nostalgic duet from Gigi, two former lovers sing about their last rendezvous, many years before. They have completely different memories of the occasion, but it hardly matters, as they look fondly into each other’s eyes.
  • Willie Nelson, It gets easier. The venerable Willie Nelson, age 83, celebrates the freedom that comes with growing old.
  • Tim McGraw, Live like you were dying. The title says it all: live life to the fullest.
  • Pete Seeger, My get up and go. This old chestnut is full of clichés and if this were a young performer I might have given it a pass. But it’s Pete Seeger, who kept on performing right into old age. He sings and plays this song with good humour and grace, and makes it his own.
  • Barry Manilow, Old friends. Stephen Sondheim’s tribute to friendships that have stood the test of time.
  • Frank Sinatra, September of my years. Time passes so quickly, but the past is full of sweet memories that warm up our September years.
  • Leonard Cohen, Steer your way. Really, I could have picked anything from Leonard Cohen’s extraordinary last album, You want it darker. He can feel his life drawing to a close, and probes those questions that have no easy answers: questions about love, faith, and death. His vision is dark, but not despairing. In this song, he stands up to the darkness with honesty and courage: “Steer your heart past the truth you believed in yesterday”.