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What if the cure for every childhood fear were simply... growing up?
In Carlo Boszhard’s lively Dutch tune Als Ik Ouder Ben (“When I Am Older”), the singer dreams of a future in which every spooky rustle, baffling adult conversation, and enchanted-looking forest finally makes sense. Right now, strange sounds (“Wat was dat?”) and eerie faces feel overwhelming, yet he imagines that with each passing year wisdom will shine a brighter light: worries will shrink, and the world will reveal itself as “niet slecht maar goed”—not bad but good.
The song turns the universal wish to be older into a cheerful reassurance. Boszhard reminds us that time naturally brings confidence and clarity; today’s mysteries will become tomorrow’s “klare taal” (plain language). Until then, the chorus’s upbeat energy offers comfort: it is perfectly normal to feel scared or confused now, and it is equally normal to trust that everything will be OK once a little life experience kicks in.