Jethro Tull – Too Old To Rock’n’Roll

Jethro Tull performing “Too Old To Rock’n’ Roll” on British TV Show “Supersonic” on 27 March 1976.

“Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die” was released as its album’s only single in March 1976, though it did not see success on the charts. The song has since become a fan favorite and has seen positive reception from critics.

The title for the song came to Ian Anderson on a turbulent plane ride. He recalled:

The title came to my mind on a very, very bad, turbulent flight in the USA. I hate flying anyway, but this was a really bad flight, and I was convinced we were all gonna drop out of the sky, and just the words came into my head, “I’m too old to rock and roll, but I’m too young to die.” And I wrote that down on a piece of paper and decided to make something of it.[2]
Anderson then used the title lyric to create a story about Ray Lomas, an aging biker.[3] He recalled, “It seemed more fun to write a song about an old biker who refuses to change with the times and clings to his lifestyle, to his culture. And along with the clothing, the fashions, the music and the things that are part of it; in other words, he’s a bit of a luddite and doesn’t take well to change.”

Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, harmonica, additional electric guitar and percussion
Martin Barre – electric guitar
John Evan – piano, keyboards
John Glascock – backing vocals, bass guitar
Barriemore Barlow – drums, percussion

“Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die” –  Single by Jethro Tull from the album Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die!
Released 19 March 1976
Songwriter Ian Anderson