“When I’m Older” by Ashe

Ashe’s “When I’m Older” is a relatively-complex love song. The overall project it is featured on, “Ashlyn”, revolves around songs which are based on Ashe’s real-life experiences. And in such a manner is exactly how the first verse reads, as if the track is autobiographical. 

We have the vocalist delineating certain activities that she was apparently engaged in on a regular basis, such as “payphone calls, cigarettes (and) shower sex”. She also alludes to the idea that she may have nearly lost her life a time or two. 

These reflections harp back to the days when she was ‘young and out of her mind’. But leading listeners down this path, as if the song is based in the past, is sort of an act of misdirection. And why? Because at the end of the verse, it is revealed that she shared the experiences alongside an unidentified addressee, who is the actual object of the song.

Who is this individual?

By the time the choruses roll along, we are made aware of the fact that said individual would apparently be her significant other. 

Terminology-wise, this is made most evident by the fact that she refers to this person as “darling”. But also sentimentally, the main idea being put forth is shall we say a reluctance to stop loving him.

And perhaps that may sound like an unflattering way to describe being in love with someone, but such is the nature of this track. 

We can definitively ascertain that the singer is in fact in love with the addressee. Moreover she has apparently been so for a lengthy amount of time, seemingly going back to their youth. But she isn’t sugarcoating the experience, as such songs tend to do. 

The “years” they have spent together may have been “golden” in general, i.e. full of plenty of wonderful memories. But there were also the disappointments, “injuries”, apprehensions and what have you. So it’s like they truly grew up in life together.

“When I’m Older”

But even though, once again, the verses may focus on the past, the thesis sentiment, i.e. the vocalist’s love for the addressee, is very much set in the present and indeed even into the future. For fundamentally put, what the title is saying is that she will never stop loving him. 

Or perhaps more accurately, we can say that she is unable to perceive a time in future where she will no longer be in love.

What the lyrics are all about

So in closing, we can creatively summarize the featured narrative as so. The singer is in a less-than-ideal romance. Or let’s say that some people feel that she and the addressee should not be together. And even she is able to perceive that yes, they have done things which perhaps were not in the best interest of their individual and collective wellbeing. Indeed based on the pre-chorus, some of these recollections apparently worry her to this day.

But at the same time, she is able to foresee a day when these past mishaps are no longer pertinent. Or rather, her love for the addressee is stronger than any unpleasant memories. 

In fact all lyrics considered, it is the memories of their relationship, in their comprehensiveness, which are fueling her love. They may have been reckless, but she obviously got a thrill out of living that way alongside him. 

So as far as entertaining the requests of the aforementioned naysayers it’s like okay, maybe “30 years” from now she’ll forget about dude. But as for the time being, to stop loving him would be impossible.

Facts about “When I’m Older”

Ashe is from San Jose, one of the most-popular cities in California. With this track being made public on 21 April 2021, she is 27 years old at the time and has been professionally active since 2017.

Between now and then she has dropped three EPs. The second of those efforts, “Moral of the Story: Chapter 1” (2019) was a notable hit.

And “When I’m Older” is actually one of the singles from her debut full-length. That project is entitled “Ashlyn” (Ashe’s birth name is Ashlyn Rae Wilson). And according to Ashe, this is the album’s last single.

This track was produced and co-written by an artist originally from New Zealand who operates under the moniker Big Taste. And the other writers are Sean Douglas, as well as Ashe herself.