About WHEN I WAS OLDER (Music Inspired by the Film "ROMA")

"When I Was Older" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from the soundtrack album Music Inspired by the Film Roma (2018). The song was released as a single by Sony Masterworks on January 9, 2019. Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell co-wrote it, while the latter handled production. Musically an electronic track with lullaby-influenced instrumentation, the lyrics of the song were heavily inspired by the critically acclaimed 2018 film Roma. Eilish's lyrics address misery, while she uses impressions of singing underwater. "When I Was Older" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with one of them likening the lyrical content. The song reached number 11 on the US Billboard Alternative Digital Song Sales chart. It was performed live during Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep Tour and Where Do We Go? World Tour in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

On January 8, 2019, Eilish announced the release date of "When I Was Older". She stated that the song's title was inspired from a piece of dialogue spoken by the character Pepe: "When I was older I used to be a sailor, but I drowned in a storm." Eilish revealed the 2018 movie Roma, which was directed by Alfonso Cuarón and described as "domestic worker’s journey set against domestic and political turmoil in 1970s Mexico", as a major inspiration behind the song. "When I Was Older was released for digital download and streaming through record label Sony Masterworks on January 9, 2019 in various countries. Although "When I Was Older" was not in the movie, it was chosen by Cuarón to appear on the album Music Inspired by the Film Roma on February 8, 2019. The song was later included on the Japanese edition of Eilish's debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in December 2019. "When I Was Older" was written by the singer and her brother Finneas O'Connell, and he also produced it. Mastering and mixing was handled by studio personnel, John Greenham and Rob Kinelski, respectively.