I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die
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They Might Be Giants used cue cards so the audience could sing along, seen here at Rockitz in Richmond, VA on March 5, 1988
| song name | I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die |
| artist | They Might Be Giants |
| releases | 1985 Demo Tape [Example #3 / Hello re-issue], They Might Be Giants, Then: The Earlier Years, Podcast 52 |
| year | 1985 |
| first played | November 12, 1985 (77 known performances) |
| run time | 1:58 |
| sung by | John Flansburgh (sings the first verse alone); John Linnell (sings the second verse alone) |
Trivia/Info
- This song's title is a play on the lyric "I hope I die before I get old," from The Who's 1965 song "My Generation". Linnell explained the impulse behind this in a 1988 Boston Globe interview:
["I hope that I get old before I die"] seemed the more correct point of view. A lot of our songs are really pretty negative, but they're put in a friendly-sounding way. In that case, I was thinking about how our society doesn't look up to its elderly, and feeling like the old man I'll eventually become.
- According to John Flansburgh, the recording of this song heard on They Might Be Giants was recorded during sessions at Studio PASS. It features the sounds of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer also used for "Cowtown", "Rabid Child", "Become A Robot" and the demos for "The Biggest One" and "Rhythm Section Want Ad". The recording also replaced the original at-home demo on certain releases of the 1985 Demo Tape.
- In a 1996 interview with ICE Magazine, Flansburgh mentioned that this song and "Become A Robot" were both considered for inclusion on an Enigma Records polka compilation circa. 1984[1], but were both rejected. The potential inclusion of these two songs was also confirmed in a handwritten note given by the band alongside a flyer and a promotional demo tape to Bob Riedel, which Flansburgh referred to as "my little pitch that things were happening for us."[2] The note read:
"SORRY FOR THE DELAY. KEEP EARS PEELED FOR A POLKA COMPILATION ON ENIGMA RECORDS (S.F.) WITH TWO OF OUR SONGS INCLUDED (NOT ON CASSETTE). LOVE, TMBG"
- Similarly to the demo version, when this song was performed live during the 1980s and 1990s, John and John performed this song with only accordion and duet vocals. On occasion, they would also end the song with the unresolved line "And I think about the dirt that I'll be wearin' for a shirt" to transition into another song.
- During performances of the song in the 1980s, large cue cards upon which the lyrics were printed were also held up as the Johns encouraged the audience to sing along.
- This song's title appeared as "Hope That I Get Old Before I Die" on Then: The Earlier Years, the liner notes of They Might Be Giants and on J-cards of the 1985 Demo Tape.
- The song's choruses beginning with "It's a long, long rope" could be a reference to the chorus of the English music hall song, "It's a Long Way to Tipperary."
Song Themes
Accents, Clothes, Death, Food, Long, Long, Occupations, Puns, References To Other Songs Or Musicians, Songs With Handclaps, Water
Videos
- Watch it on
- Live performance featured in Gigantic, 2001 - Watch it on
- Recorded live for the Brooklyn Trio Sessions, 2019
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