pop songs negative about ageing

I agree to a point (but not really surprised.)

What I do find odd is that it's someone's job to research this.

You can read anything into anything if you try hard enough. With so many terrible things going on in the world do we really need to be nit-picking over a bunch of old records and worrying about the message they are portraying?

I am losing it! I started to type about a theme song I like to a TV programme but can't remember the name of the programme - it was a song by Denis Waterman about not caring if 'you're old and grey' and then 'we're getting to the end of the day' .....

New Tricks!

Pop songs are written by the young for the young, so what did the researchers expect? And it's nothing new:-

Ronsard: "Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir, a la chandelle,"

I won't go on in French; my predictive text can't cope, and I can't cope with my predictive text!

Then there's that old perv Chevalier with "Ah yes, I remember it well," and his grotesque song "Valentine" about the aging process.

Can I claim a research grant?

Paul McCartney is 64+9 ( nearly 10) years

I wonder if Nancy sent him a Valentine?

Mind you, predictive text suggesting virile for vieille was quite interesting!

That's the one Teetime ....I keep forgetting names and things lately. Very worrying.

I bet it was grumppa

The travelling Wilburys recorded that song. With the sainted Roy Orbison.

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Sad but beautiful and I don't know how old he was when he wrote it.

I think When I'm Sixty-Four is a rather sweet, affectionate little song. I suppose it does stereotype older people but I'm not sure it's worth getting het up about.

One of the "positive" songs mentioned "Going Back" by Dusty Springfield is a beautiful, thoughtful song, but I also think it has a rather sad edge to it.

There's a song (plagiarised?!) from that poem, isn't there? "When you are old and full of sleep, And death no longer makes you weep"

Can't think who sings it. Makes me go a bit tearful when I hear it.

Oh! Love Going Back! Loved Dusty.

Me too. And Going Back is tinged with sadness, I agree.

'Memory' from 'Cats' sums it up for me

But thankfully (?) we live a lot longer now so don't become decrepit so quickly.
What about this one -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfQjcbQpq-0
Only been married 40 years? You've got a long way to go.

jinglbellsfrocks - are you thinking of Martina McBride or Gretchen Peters....? ??

No. I'm pretty sure that (somebody) McDonnell sings it (Irish bloke)

Actually you are right jogginggirl

I love it!

I bet The Who feel a bit daft for having sung "I hope I did before I get old" in My Generation!

Me too jinglbellsfrocks - I saw GP in concert in Leicester a while ago and she sang this song - not a dry eye in the house ?

So beautiful, but it's got to have come straight from the Yeates poem.

I haven't noticed songs about getting old really but then I don't really listen to pop music - rock and heavy metal is my bag. 'Growing old disgracefully' that's me

They have been laying Beatles songs all morning - I loved knowing all the words. Fantastic poems.