What if....

Just Older has different lyrics but I can't decipher the words too well because of the bad quality. Does anybody have it written down somewhere?

It's cool hearing the Album Tracks with slight variations... Shadow Dancing & Good Ain't Good Enough are obviously the 2 that need to make the next box set, if we ever get a second one... There are others that were never heard such as Someday You'll Ride Wild Horses...

Just dug out another pre-Crush rendition of "Older" from an old audiotape. The energy was really high during those performances back then:

The first verse is rather similar. The second one I could mostly decipher, though there is one line I still fail to find out after listening to the demo and 4 live recordings...

It's good to see your face,
you ain't no worse for wear,
I know what you need,
Yeah I've been there
She's doing okay, seen her last year
Married and (???)
Yeah, sometimes I wish that I told her...

This should be fairly right:

Hey man, it's been a while
Do you remember me?
I'm 36, I was 17
A little wild, a little green
I been up and down on and in between
It's been 18 years, can you believe
I'm still chasing that dream
And I ain't looking over my shoulder

I like the bed I'm sleeping in
And just like me, it's broken in
It's not old, just older
And like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin I'm in is alright with me
It's not old, just older

It's good to see your face
You ain't no worse for wear
I know what you need
Yeah I've been there
She's doing okay, seen her last year
Got married and don't live far from here
Yeah, sometimes I wish that I told her

But I like the bed I'm sleeping in
And just like me, it's broken in
It's not old, just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin I'm in is alright with me
It's not old, just older

I'm not old enough to sing the blues
But I've worn the holes in the soles of these shoes
You can roll the dice 'til they call your bluff
But you can't win until you're not afraid to lose

Hey man, I gotta run, you take care
If you see coach T tell him I cut my hair
Been all these years, can you believe
I'm still chasing dreams
And I ain't looking over my shoulder
I ain't

I like the bed I'm sleeping in
And just like me, it's broken in
It's not old, just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin I'm in is alright with me
It's not old, just older
I look in the mirror, I don't hate what I see
There's a a few more lines staring back at me
It's not old, just...

Cheers for posting this Dominik!

The music and vocals of those early performances sound great indeed, but the lyrics were much better in the final version IMO.

Thank you guys, I'm forever grateful! It seems only the second verse got changed. Sounds better indeed!

What I find funny is that he sings "I'm 36, I was 17" and then "It's been 18 years" (live he actually does that multiple times). I know, it's possible and maybe sounds better than "19 years", but still funny on first listen

It´s possible, because between your 17 and your 36 can be between 18 and 20 years exactly, so I guess Jon is talking about when he was still 17 but almost 18, and when singing it he was already 36 but just for some weeks maybe

Yeah, that's what I meant by "I know it's possible"