Older
They Might Be Giants [live] Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 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.
The song, "Older" by They Might Be Giants (TMBG), is a reflection on the passage of time and the inevitable process of aging. The simple repetition of the lyrics emphasizes the relentlessness of time, and how no matter how old we already are, we continue to age. The lyrics, "And now you're even older," are repeated multiple times, becoming increasingly urgent as time marches on.
The mention of time in the second verse adds to the sense of urgency in the song. The lyrics state that "this day will soon be at an end and now it's even sooner," which emphasizes the limited amount of time we have in our lives. The line, "And now it's even sooner," is repeated multiple times, creating a feeling of anxiety about the passage of time. The final verse brings the song full circle, repeating the same lyrics from the beginning, reminding us that we are always getting older.
Line by Line Meaning
You're older than you've ever been.
You have lived longer than you have in your entire life so far.
And now you're even older.
In this exact moment, your state of being older has increased compared to the previous moment.
And now you're even older.
In this exact moment, your state of being older has increased again compared to the previous moment.
And now you're even older.
In this exact moment, your state of being older has increased once again compared to the previous moment.
Time! Is marching on.
Time, which is a concept that represents the continuous forward movement of events, is continuing to progress forward like the marching of soldiers.
And time, is still marching on.
This sentence emphasizes the continued progression of time mentioned earlier.
This day will soon be at an end and now it's even sooner.
The current day, which is a unit of time that is about to finish, is going to end soon and this fact is being highlighted by stating that it is happening even faster than before.
And now it's even sooner.
This sentence reiterates the fact that the current day is ending even faster than before, highlighting the passage of time.
And now it's even sooner.
This sentence emphasizes the increasing speed at which the current day is ending.
This day will soon be at an end and now it's even sooner.
This sentence is a repetition of an earlier sentence, expressing the idea that time is passing very rapidly.
And now it's even sooner.
This sentence underscores the fact that the day is ending even more rapidly than before.
And now it's sooner still.
This sentence reiterates the idea that the current day is coming to an end at an even faster rate than before.
You're older than you've ever been.
This sentence is a repetition of an earlier line, expressing the idea that the person being addressed has lived longer than ever before.
And now you're even older.
This sentence emphasizes that the person being addressed has aged even more since the earlier line was spoken.
And now you're even older.
This sentence underscores the point that the person being address has aged even more since the last sentence was spoken.
And now you're even older.
This sentence stresses the idea that the person being addressed has aged even more since the last time the idea was mentioned.
You're older than you've ever been.
This is another repetition of an earlier line, highlighting once again the fact that the person being addressed has aged a great deal.
And now you're even older.
This sentence serves as a reminder that the process of aging continued to occur even after the last repetition of this idea.
And now you're older still.
This sentence emphasizes the more recent aging that has occurred since the last time this concept was mentioned.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN FLANSBURGH, JOHN LINNELL, JOHN C. FLANSBURGH, JOHN S. LINNELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dan Harville
I have a cousin whose name is Time. (her parents were hippies.)
So for me, time really is relative.
Doug JB
The next time you’re having fun, call your cousin and ask her if she’s in an airplane.
J Guenther
Hippies? By any chance does she have a sister named named Rosemary?
IoEstasCedonta
What's her stance on Quaaludes and red wine?
Chris Marcinko
Clearly so are puns.
Tiki Stanford
@0okamino nicely done. I cheated and googled, so I won’t spoil it. Much more satisfying if someone who actually knew it solves it. I love things like this. Again, well done.
David Vandermeer
The best thing about this song is, whenever you play it, no matter the occasion, it's true.
T_ man
David Vandermeer for me this is strangely nostalgic for me because I first heard it in freshmen year of high school and I just graduated a while back
Timbill Corder
The ultimate birthday song.
Bani Prasad Das
20 years back I used to ask my kids to sing it to their teachers in kindergarten……. guess I always had an evil streak! :-)