‘Old Man’ is a song written and performed by Canadian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Neil Young from his 1972 album Harvest. ‘Old Man’ was released as a single in the spring of 1972, reaching number 4 in Canada, and number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending June 3.
The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased in 1970. The song compares a young man's life to an old man's and shows that the young man has, to some extent, the same needs as the old one. James Taylor played six-string banjo (tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, and Linda Ronstadt also contributed vocals.
In the film Heart of Gold, Young introduces the song as follows:
“About that time when I wrote (‘Heart of Gold’), and I was touring, I had also—just, you know, being a rich hippie for the first time—I had purchased a ranch, and I still live there today. And there was a couple living on it that were the caretakers, an old gentleman named Louis Avila and his wife Clara. And there was this old blue Jeep there, and Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep. He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there's this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says, "Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?" And I said, "Well, just lucky, Louis, just real lucky." And he said, "Well, that's the darnedest thing I ever heard." And I wrote this song for him.”
Songwriter – Neil Young
Producer – Neil Young
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Old man, look at my life
I'm a lot like you were
Old man, look at my life
I'm a lot like you were
[Verse 1]
Old man, look at my life
Twenty-four, and there's so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two
[Verse 2]
Love lost, such a cost
Give me things that don't get lost
Like a coin that won't get tossed
Rolling home to you
[Chorus]
Old man, take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true
[Verse 3]
Lullabies, look in your eyes
Run around the same old town
Doesn't mean that much to me
To mean that much to you
[Verse 4]
I've been first and last
Look at how the time goes past
But I'm all alone at last
Rolling home to you
[Chorus]
Old man, take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true
[Outro]
Old man, look at my life
I'm a lot like you were
Old man, look at my life
I'm a lot like you were