Neil Young: Old Man Meaning
Song Released: 1972
Old Man Lyrics
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
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.
Love lost, such a...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:This song is actually about the old man who was a caretaker at Neil youngs ranch. This is 100% true I am friends with his daughter. This old man took care of his property with happiness and care. He later died doing his job. His son now takes care of the ranch in his fathers foot steps
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:When I first heard this 35 odd years ago, i thouht of my dad. Today I think of myself as that old man. I look at my life.......
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A Bicennetenial quarter would speak of it's peruvian torch, it' dime, and it's cow, all three have some value.
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Reminds me of Vietnam remember that war ? Paralyzed left arm that was back in the days. If you had a small amount of marijuana all charges dropped if you signed up for the draft. A seed of marijuana was a federal offense. Got hit by a drunk driver 7/4/85 dires strights was my condition but i lived and what you did to him and what you did to me. legalize marijuana safer than that drug you call alcohol. ALCOHOL KILLS 24-7 FIGHTS, RAPES, ROBBERYS, MURDERS AND ON AND ON MARIJUANA YOU WILL HAVE LONG LINES IN THE CANDY STORE THE CHOICE IS YOUR
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I think the old man at the ranch inspired this song & reminded him of his father and his father doesn’t want him to make the same mistakes that he made. So then when he gets on him for somehow always screwing relationships up his father does so because he doesn’t want his son to grow up, grow old and be alone like himself. Neil however doesn’t care about it as much as his father cares about it however.
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Wait! It's NOT about his dad? I have always thought this was a song to his "old man" aka his dad. I'm so confused.
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Soul searching... old man, new man....
A transformation of a new life style, and remembering the old life style...
Willing to give up who you are and move on, can be very profound, and quite emotional. -
the one that said it was about the caretaker is the true one . I seen neal young on a interview ant thats that he said
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I think Neil was feeling a little lonely perhaps as he sat on the porch of his ranch and composed this great song. But, additionally I think he was reflecting on his life in general.
To me, "I've been first and last.... but I am all alone at last" refers to his musical career, that is "Neil Young and Crazy Horse" (first), then Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Last), and then Neil Solo (all alone)...
I think he may have tired of the thing with CSNY as they relied, as they do today, on the hits from their early work together, and perhaps that is what he meant by "run around the same old town"...and also that, unlike CSN, he preferred to be creative, experimental, etc., without fear of how the audience might react: "It doesn't mean that much to me, to mean that much to you"
Just a few random thoughts that I have had
Dave -
The song was written about the toils of life wearing you down and not being able to do anything about it. One minute your on top and next you are scrapping and ekeing by.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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