Songfacts®:

• "When I Was Young" was written by Eric Burdon and included on various Animals albums as well as being a single release.
  
  Burdon's composition marks an important turning point for the Animals: many of The Animals' hits had been Brill Building productions, most notably the husband-and-wife team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, which was an effort by their producer Mickie Most to make this British Invasion band sound more American. Burdon found this too restricting, and the group moved to Decca Records by 1966. This was amongst their first hits after this move.
• Cover versions of this song include versions by Golden Earring, Eddie Fisher, Tina Turner, and The Ramones. It's also been featured in film soundtracks such as Doris Dorrie's Manner....
• 1967 was the year before The Animals sort of fell apart. The cause is placed entirely on bad business decisions; The Animals were getting rooked over by a dishonest manager and were losing more money than they were making. For more on the band, check out our interview with Eric Burdon.
• This song is sometimes cited as having pioneered the grunge/metal sound years before its time.
• Speaking with American Songwriter magazine in a 2013 interview, Eric Burdon said this is the first song he wrote that has stood the test of time. He explained: "When I first wrote it I played it to George Harrison and his comment was 'Great! You got to do more of this. You'll know you'll be able to sing this song when you are in your forties.' Now I am in my 70s and I am still singing it."