Old age

Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. Euphemisms and terms for old people include, old people (worldwide usage), seniors (American usage), senior citizens (British and American usage), older adults (in the social sciences), the elderly, and elders (in many cultures —including the cultures of aboriginal people).

Old people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to disease, syndromes, and sickness than younger adults. The organic process of ageing is called senescence, the medical study of the aging process is gerontology, and the study of diseases that afflict the elderly is geriatrics. The elderly also face other social issues such as retirement, loneliness, and ageism.

The chronological age denoted as "old age" varies culturally and historically. Thus, old age is "a social construct" rather than a definite "biological stage".

Definitions

Definitions of old age include official definitions, popular definitions, sub-group definitions, and four dimensions as follows.

Old Age (song)

"Old Age" is a song written and composed by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, which was later re-written and re-recorded by his wife, Courtney Love, and her band Hole.

Although Nirvana's and Hole's renditions of the song share the same title and melody, the lyrics used in Hole's version are entirely different from those used in the original Nirvana recording.

History

"Old Age" was originally written and recorded by Cobain as a rough demo in 1991 during the Nevermind sessions.

In November 1992, Hole recorded an acoustic version of the song, released in April 1993 as a b-side to their single "Beautiful Son", and at this point, their version was the only known version in existence. Although Hole's rendition of "Old Age" retains the melody and chorus structure of Cobain's original song, the lyrics were completely re-written by Love. Another Hole version of the song, with alternate lyrics, was recorded for a radio session in March 1993.

In October 1993, while recording Live Through This, a more polished studio version of "Old Age" was recorded by Hole, with slightly different lyrics from the first two versions, a different ending, and an interlude accompanied by an organ, but it did not make it onto the album. The interlude for the song, however, was attached to the beginning of the track "Credit in the Straight World", which was included on Live Through This. A full version of this recording of "Old Age" was eventually released as a b-side to the single, "Violet" in 1995, and again in 1997 on the compilation album, My Body, the Hand Grenade.

Old Age (disambiguation)

Old Age may refer to:

old age