"Older" spins us through a carousel of life's uncertainties. Lizzy McAlpine's melancholic vocals grapple with grief, heartbreak, and the cyclical nature of existence. Metaphors of amusement park rides and fleeting childhood paint a vivid picture of being stuck in a loop, yearning for something new. An ambiguous "you" represents unfulfilled expectations, while her aging mother adds a bittersweet pang of lost time.
Yet, the song isn't devoid of hope. McAlpine's resilience shines through, suggesting an acceptance of life's ongoing journey, uncertainties and all. "Older" lingers, reminding us to appreciate the ride, even on its repetitive turns.
On March 13, 2020, McAlpine's father tragically passed away, leaving a lasting impact on her. The grief stemming from this loss is evident in two significant songs: "Headstones and Land Mines" and "Chemtrails," positioned as the 13th tracks on her first two albums. This arrangement could potentially signify a symbolic connection to the unlucky day.
Over and over, watch it all pass
Mom's getting older, I'm wanting it back
Where no one is dying, and no one is hurt
And I have been good to you instead of making it worse
"Older" continues this theme, but with a poignant shift. While McAlpine acknowledges the grief and yearning for her father in previous works, she focuses here on her mother's journey. We see her mother carrying on despite the loss, perhaps inspiring a bittersweet reflection on life's resilience.
Lizzy McAlpine wrote "Older" with guitarist-producer Mason Stoops (Ryan Beatty, Del Water Gap) and songwriter Taylor Mackall, but the song almost didn't come to fruition. McAlpine told Apple Music she originally had the first verse and chorus sitting in a forgotten voice memo because her early producer thought the idea sounded "too Disney." When she finally played it for Stoops and Mackall, they pushed her to finish it.
The challenge was that McAlpine was no longer in the same emotional place as when she first wrote it; the breakup that inspired the song was well in the rearview mirror. Stoops and Mackall told her to write from where she was now, not where she had been. That shift cracked the song open for her and ended up shaping the concept of the entire Older album. According to McAlpine, they finished the song in about 20 minutes, recorded three takes, kept the third, and never tinkered with it again.
McAlpine laid down "Older" at Nuffer Ranch studio in Pasadena, California. She completed the song quickly; this recording is a third take.
"Older" is the title track of McAlpine's third album, her debut for RCA Records. She posted on social media that making Older was a "long and mostly tumultuous journey" but she refused to compromise.
"This album took me three years to get right," she said. "The song 'Older' specifically was the moment it all started to come together in my head."
"Older" trended on TikTok with fans sharing nostalgic photos of them with their moms.
The music video for "Older," directed by sweetiepie (Neema Sadeghi and Ethan Frank), was filmed in January 2024 but shelved by McAlpine for reasons she didn't specify. When she revisited the footage with Sadeghi nearly two years later, she saw, in her words, "a younger Lizzy really going through it," and decided releasing the video in November 2025 was the right way to close that chapter of her life.
McAlpine said the video now serves as a time capsule, reminding her of who she was when she made both the album and the video, and how much she's grown since then.
Sadeghi and Frank had planned a one-take video at sunset, on 35mm film, powered entirely by McAlpine's emotional performance. They arrived armed with 20 ideas in case things went sideways. Then McAlpine simply told them, "I'm good, I got it. I have a lot to pull from."
The directors stepped back and trusted her, letting the moment, and McAlpine's raw performance, carry the video.
