"Age" is a song written and recorded by

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to p ...

and his wife

Ingrid Ingrid may refer to: * Ingrid (given name) * Ingrid (record label), and artist collective * Ingrid Burley, rapper known mononymously as Ingrid * Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cyclones * 1026 Ingrid, an asteroid * InGrid, the grid computing project ...

. The song was first recorded in 1969 on their

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album. Jim Croce would record the song again, this time without Ingrid, for his final album '' I Got a Name'' in 1973.

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

's cover of the song was released as a single in 1980 on his

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

to Croce, and it peaked at 36 on the ''Billboard'' country chart.

Content

Age is about a change in the narrator’s disposition after an experience over time where he went from having a lot of success to a little because of bad choices. The speaker regrets losing his ideals, which has caused him to be right back where he started from before his success. After losing everything he is working his way back to the top and is using his experience to better himself the second time around. The narrator will be careful climbing to success because "when you're down nobody gives a damn anyway."

Covers

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

covered ''Age'' on their tribute album "The Ventures Play the Jim Croce Songbook" *

Mike Auldridge Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 – December 29, 2012) was an American Dobro player and a founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene. The ''New York Times'' described Auldridge as "one of the most distinctive dobro players in the ...

recorded it in 1977 on his album Mike Auldridge & 'Old Dog'Mike Auldridge & Old Dog, All Music
/ref> * The Bluegrass Album Band with

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

on lead vocals covered the song on their album Bluegrass Album, Vol. 4

Chart performance

Jerry Reed

References

{{authority control 1969 songs 1980 singles Jim Croce songs Jerry Reed songs Songs written by Jim Croce RCA Records singles