“Getting Older” by Billie Eilish

According to Billie Eilish’s own account of its creation, “Getting Older” is a very personal song.  And as implied by the title, it centers on the vocalist’s ruminations concerning the fact that she’s aging. And whereas some of these reflections may be along the lines of general female coming-of-age types of sentiments, some are also specific to her experience.

For instance, at the end of the first verse, Billie sings of ‘strangers seeming to want her more’ than even any of her loved ones. And on one hand, that speaks to a deep sense of loneliness she is experiencing, as implied earlier in the passage. 

But also, one has to presume that Eilish is speaking to the reality of being a celebrity, a world in which individuals of her stature regularly deal with paparazzi / internet trolls, violent stalkers and on a more positive note, fans who simply love them. However, it has also been reasonably put forth, based on comments the songstress has made before, that she’s actually referring to a lack of genuine romantic interests in her past. 

But either way, whether it’s new dudes she’s referring to or whatever, we are compelled to logically believe that the fact there’s ‘a stranger always waiting at her door’ is the direct result of the young lady being mega-famous.

Damn this Job!

Another segment of the song where it is possible that Eilish is directly addressing her come-up is the chorus. Here, it is revealed that an activity which Billie “once enjoyed” is ‘now just keeping her employed’. 

And it wouldn’t take rocket science to figure out that what she is most likely referring to is her musical pursuits, considering that anyone familiar with this vocalist knows that music is her passion. And overall, as indicative of her age, she takes a mature approach to this analysis. 

That is to say that she knows familiarity breeds contempt, if you will. Or put differently, upon achieving what she is “longing for”, eventually she will become “bored of” the selfsame thing. 

And on a more general note she realizes this is something we all go through, feening if you will, only to adopt a so-what attitude about the same matter later on. So perhaps needless to say, these days Billie probably doesn’t enjoy making music as much as during her more carefree past, when doing so was more an act of edification than income generation.

Responsibilities and Self Reflection

Indeed at the beginning of the third verse, we see that the vocalist is also able to sort of understand that with increased age comes more responsibility. But as for the third and second verses, Billie uses them to a significant degree for the purpose of critically analyzing herself.

For instance she really exposes herself at the beginning of the second verse by admitting that she ‘craves pity’ and accordingly possesses a tendency to overdramatize events. So it’s like as it stands now, she has yet to master the art of “healing”, or let’s say effectively getting over the past.

Relationship Issues?

But the latter parts of the verse aren’t as easy to decipher. It appears that she is speaking to a fractured relationship with a loved one. But what she appears to be saying about the situation, conclusively, is that the abovenoted tendency to overdramatize negatively affected said relationship. And if such is in fact what Eilish is saying, that’s a really interesting statement given some of the other songs on Happier Than Ever.

To illustrate, at the end of the third verse Billie somewhat clearly states that she was “abused”. And such is actually a semi-recurring theme throughout the album, particularly from a romantic perspective. Or perhaps, as implied by the main love interest figure from Eilish’s past, some of these stories are embellished. But either way, it is obvious that she has suffered some form(s) of abuse in the past which still, understandably, bother her mentally.

The Conclusion of “Getting Older”

But Getting Older ultimately concludes on a happier note. As presented, the song was a form of self-therapy for the singer, allowing her to release some of her pent-up “trauma”. And her hope and expectation is that she will overcome this melancholy in the very near future. 

But perhaps the most interesting thing about this track is here we have this teenager who, from the outside looking in, would be considered on top of the world. But instead Billie even starts off her hotly-anticipated sophomore album to the contrary, but rather insinuating that in a lot of ways, to her personally life has lost its luster.

Release of “Getting Older”

This is the opening song on the playlist of “Happier Than Ever”, Billie Eilish’s second full-length that was released on 30 July 2021. 

And the labels behind the project are Interscope Records and Darkroom Records. These are the same companies that put out virtually all of the 19 year old’s albums/EPs thus far.

Despite being successful, “Getting Older” wasn’t released as one of the album’s singles. In all, “Happier Than Ever” had 5 singles. They are as follows:

• “NDA”
• “Lost Cause”
• “Your Power”
• “Therefore I Am”
• “My Future”

Writing and Production Credits of “Getting Older”

This song was written by Billie and Finneas and co-produced by the latter, as with every track on Happier Than Ever. And as for Eilish herself, she admitted that penning this tune in particular was a very emotional experience. In other words, it speaks to her personal situation, and it centers on thoughts/emotions that she’s been able to really process just recently given her increased age.