Songfacts®:

• "Getting Older" is the opening track from Billie Eilish's second album, Happier Than Ever. The record draws on the teenage singer's experiences with a past abusive relationship ("Your Power"), a romance with a worthless dude ("Lost Cause"), and power struggles ("Therefore I Am").
  
  "I went through some crazy s--t, and it really affected me and made me not want to go near anyone ever," said Eilish to Rolling Stone.
• This song, which touches on some of the traumatic experiences Eilish has been through, was especially harrowing to write.
  
  I've had some trauma
  Did things I didn't wanna
  Was too afraid to tell ya
  But now I think it's time
  
  The singer admits the emotional pain she talks about here may shock many of her fans. "I had to take a break in the middle of writing that one, and I wanted to cry, because it was so revealing," said Eilish. "And it's just the truth."
• Eilish also reflects on how her growing fame has made her feel.
  
  Things I once enjoyed
  Just keep me employed now
  
  She told the LA Times the line isn't her being sad, she's just stating facts. "Things that I enjoy can sometimes just turn into things that feel like a burden, and it's really weird," she explained. "Like, 'Oh, this is something I used to love and now it feels like a job.' It's not, like, 'Oh, I hate this now.' It's different. It's changed."
• Billie Eilish gives herself credit on the third verse for finally being able to admit how she really felt, before nodding to the album title:
  
  I'm gettin' older, I've got more on my shoulders
  But I'm gettin' better at admitting when I'm wrong
  I'm happier than ever, at least, that's my endeavor
  To keep myself together and prioritize my pleasure
  
  Eilish told Spotify the lyrics for this track were difficult to write as, "It's a very revealing song talking about things that I only at the time had just felt I realized about myself and felt insecure about and wanted to talk about. I don't know, I think that that happens a lot and it should be completely welcomed, is realizing stuff years later. You sometimes don't realize what's going on around you until a really long time later or realize what you feel until years later."
• Adam Lambert recorded the song for his 2023 covers album, High Drama. "I was listening to the lyrics and I was like, 'How did a 19-year-old land on this feeling that I feel at 40, and that I'm sure someone feels at 30?' It's a universal feeling the idea of getting older," Lambert told NME. "All of the things she talks about in the song are timeless, you can be any age and feel that way. I thought that was pretty profound."