The ages of the leading presidential candidates have created concern among voters, and those concerns were exacerbated last week when a special counsel’s report, based on several hours of personal interviews with President Biden, described him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The report also said President Biden did not remember some key dates of his vice presidency or when his son Beau died.

Donald Trump’s age also has sparked concern. He recently confused Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.

Amid the uneasiness over age, Haley, who is far behind Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, has  launched “Grumpy Old Men,”  a series of ads that target both Biden and Trump because of their age.

While age has been a delicate subject in politics, songwriters have long addressed the topic.

For example, in The Who’s “My Generation” Roger Daltrey boldly proclaims “I hope I die before I get old, and in 1968’s “Old Friends,” Paul Simon sang that it would be “terribly strange to be 70.”

Perhaps, Ian Anderson put it best when he painted an unflattering picture of an aging rock star in a song titled “Too Old to Rock’n’Roll: Too Young to Die,” which is why Anderson’s composition is this week’s Sharp Notes Monday selection.

As part of our “Sharp Notes, Sharp Thoughts” music and social media project, we share a song every Monday to start your week.

View previous Sharp Notes Monday selections.

Visit our “Sharp Notes, Sharp Thoughts” music and social media page to learn more about the project and view videos of our presentations.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Music and Social Justice, Sharp Notes Monday, Sharp Notes Sharp Thoughts

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