Old Man (song)
Encyclopedia
"Old Man" is a song written and performed by Neil Young
on his 1972 album
Harvest.
The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California
Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for $350,000 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 movie Heart of Gold
, Young introduces the song as follows:
He tells a similar story when introducing the song at a February 23, 1971 performance broadcast by the BBC
(in which he says that he purchased the ranch from "two lawyers").
, Wonder Boys
, Due Date
and Lords of Dogtown
.
It can also be heard in Brian Foster's part of the BMX
Video "FitLife" made by Fit Bike Co.
During actor Heath Ledger
's Hollywood memorial service, "Old Man" was chosen to be played with a slideshow of pictures from Ledger's life.
At former St. Louis Blues Brett Hull
's jersey retirement ceremony, this song was played as his jersey rose to the rafters.
The live version of the song from "Live from Massey Hall 1971" album was used briefly in the 2010
film Due Date
.
In the early summer 2011, Redlight King sampled "Old Man" on the album "Something For The Pain." It was the first time Young had sanctioned a sample of this song.
singles chart for the week ending June 2.
regularly covered this song at a number of concerts on his 2002 tour, including one at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. Dylan played the keyboard on his arrangement of the song.
The Finnish band, HIM has a rare track featuring the band covering the song, despite relatively poor quality.
The song was covered by American R&B/Soul singer N'Dea Davenport
on her 1998 debut album, N'Dea Davenport.
In 2004 the song was covered by Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys
for their debut full length album, 40 Days
.
In 2004 the song was covered by Pop trio Wilson Phillips
for their covers album, California
.
In 2005, Lizz Wright
covered it on her live album Dreaming Wide Awake
, recorded at Allaire, Shokan, New York the year before.
In 2007, Grand National
covered the song on their album A Drink and a Quick Decision
as a live bonus track.
In 2008 , Liam Finn (Neil Finn's
Son) & EJ Barnes (Jimmy Barnes's
Daughter) covered the song on the TV Show RocKwiz
. The cover can be seen on youtube
In 2009, German Metal band Motorjesus covered the song on their 100.000 Volt Survivor EP. It was also released as a bonus track on their album Wheels Of Purgatory.
In 2010, Donna Loren
covered the song on her album Love It Away.
In 2010, James McCartney
(Paul McCartney
's son) covered the song during his first live performance in a concert at the O2 Academy
.
In 2011, Laughon Bryant & The Midnite Riders covered the song on their "Down That Road" album.
In March 2011, Dallas Green, of City and Colour
and Alexisonfire, covered the song at The 2011 Juno Awards
.
In 2011, post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd
covered it on their covers album Re:(disc)overed
.
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
on his 1972 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Harvest.
The song was written for the caretaker of the Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for $350,000 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
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
played six-string banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
(tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
also contributed vocals.
In the movie Heart of Gold
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Neil Young: Heart of Gold is a 2006 documentary and concert film by Jonathan Demme, featuring Neil Young. The film was made in the summer of 2005 in Nashville, Tennessee, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was released to theaters on February 10, 2006...
, Young introduces the song as follows:
He tells a similar story when introducing the song at a February 23, 1971 performance broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
(in which he says that he purchased the ranch from "two lawyers").
Uses in popular culture
The song can be heard in the films Dogtown and Z-BoysDogtown and Z-Boys
Dogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stacy Peralta. Using a mix of film the Zephyr skateboard team shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk and more recent interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of...
, Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys (film)
Wonder Boys is a dark comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same title by Michael Chabon. Directed by Curtis Hanson, it stars Michael Douglas as professor Grady Tripp, a novelist who teaches creative writing at an unnamed Pittsburgh university...
, Due Date
Due Date
Due Date is a 2010 American comedy road film directed by Todd Phillips, co-written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, and Adam Sztykiel, and starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. The film was released on November 5, 2010...
and Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown is a 2005 biographical film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, written by Stacy Peralta. The film is based on the story of "The Z-Boys", an influential group of skateboarders who revolutionized the sport...
.
It can also be heard in Brian Foster's part of the BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
Video "FitLife" made by Fit Bike Co.
During actor Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
's Hollywood memorial service, "Old Man" was chosen to be played with a slideshow of pictures from Ledger's life.
At former St. Louis Blues Brett Hull
Brett Hull
Brett Andrew Hull is a former Canadian-American NHL player and the former Executive Vice President of the Dallas Stars. He is the son of Bobby Hull and nephew of Dennis Hull, both former NHL players. Hull is also known as "The Golden Brett," which is a play off of his father's nickname, "The...
's jersey retirement ceremony, this song was played as his jersey rose to the rafters.
The live version of the song from "Live from Massey Hall 1971" album was used briefly in the 2010
2010 in film
The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
film Due Date
Due Date
Due Date is a 2010 American comedy road film directed by Todd Phillips, co-written by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, and Adam Sztykiel, and starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. The film was released on November 5, 2010...
.
In the early summer 2011, Redlight King sampled "Old Man" on the album "Something For The Pain." It was the first time Young had sanctioned a sample of this song.
Chart performance
"Old Man" was released as a single in the spring of 1972, and reached no. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart for the week ending June 2.
Covers
Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
regularly covered this song at a number of concerts on his 2002 tour, including one at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Dylan played the keyboard on his arrangement of the song.
The Finnish band, HIM has a rare track featuring the band covering the song, despite relatively poor quality.
The song was covered by American R&B/Soul singer N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport is an American recording artist, dancer, performer and producer, best known for her work as a vocalist in the UK funk band, The Brand New Heavies, and her pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.-Biography:...
on her 1998 debut album, N'Dea Davenport.
In 2004 the song was covered by Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys
The Wailin' Jennys
The Wailin' Jennys are a Juno Award-winning Canadian folk trio from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and New York, and they consist of soprano Ruth Moody, mezzo Nicky Mehta and alto Heather Masse. In previous years, the Jennys have also toured with fiddler and mandolinist Jeremy Penner, who is from Ruth's...
for their debut full length album, 40 Days
40 Days
40 Days is the debut full-length album from Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. The lineup of the group at the time was Ruth Moody, Nicky Mehta, and Cara Luft...
.
In 2004 the song was covered by Pop trio Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Other charted songs:-Awards and nominations:...
for their covers album, California
California (Wilson Phillips album)
California is the third studio album and the first cover album by American female group Wilson Phillips. The group reunited in 2003 to record it. It is their first studio album in twelve years...
.
In 2005, Lizz Wright
Lizz Wright
Lizz Wright is an American jazz/R&B singer and composer.Wright was born in the small town of Hahira in the US state of Georgia; one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director of their Church. She started singing gospel music and playing piano in church as a child,...
covered it on her live album Dreaming Wide Awake
Dreaming Wide Awake
Dreaming Wide Awake is the second album by singer and composer Lizz Wright, released in 2005 . It reached number one on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz chart.-Track listing:#"A Taste of Honey" – 3:51...
, recorded at Allaire, Shokan, New York the year before.
In 2007, Grand National
Grand National (band)
Grand National is a British dance musical group from London, England who have toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States. The project is a collaboration between Rupert Lyddon and Lawrence Rudd , who also is a DJ and remixer...
covered the song on their album A Drink and a Quick Decision
A Drink and a Quick Decision
- UK version :-References:...
as a live bonus track.
In 2008 , Liam Finn (Neil Finn's
Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House...
Son) & EJ Barnes (Jimmy Barnes's
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
Daughter) covered the song on the TV Show RocKwiz
RocKwiz
RocKwiz is an Australian television quiz show series, focused on rock music, and broadcast on SBS One. It premiered in 2005.-Summary:The forty minute program airs on Saturday at 9:20 pm, and is hosted by Julia Zemiro. It is shot in The Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, commonly...
. The cover can be seen on youtube
In 2009, German Metal band Motorjesus covered the song on their 100.000 Volt Survivor EP. It was also released as a bonus track on their album Wheels Of Purgatory.
In 2010, Donna Loren
Donna Loren
Donna Loren is a singer and actress. A very prolific performer in the 1960s, commenciong while still attending Venice High School in western Los Angeles, she was the Dr Pepper spokesperson from 1963–1968, prolific vocalist on ABC-TV’s Shindig, and a cast member of the American International...
covered the song on her album Love It Away.
In 2010, James McCartney
James McCartney
James Louis McCartney is a British musician and songwriter living in London. He is the only son of songwriter and former Beatle Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney...
(Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's son) covered the song during his first live performance in a concert at the O2 Academy
O2 Academy
The O2 Academy may refer to one of a number of Academy Music Group venues in the United Kingdom:* O2 Academy Brixton* O2 Academy Birmingham* O2 Academy Bournemouth* O2 Academy Bristol* O2 Academy Glasgow* O2 Academy Liverpool* O2 Academy Newcastle...
.
In 2011, Laughon Bryant & The Midnite Riders covered the song on their "Down That Road" album.
In March 2011, Dallas Green, of City and Colour
City and Colour
City and Colour is the recording alias for Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green, who was also the guitarist and vocalist of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. He plays melodic acoustic and folk music and is often accompanied by a rotating number of Canadian indie rock...
and Alexisonfire, covered the song at The 2011 Juno Awards
Juno Awards of 2011
The Juno Awards of 2011, honours Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2009 and in most of 2010. The awards presented in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 26 and 27 March 2011. A week of related events on 21 March 2011...
.
In 2011, post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle Of Mudd is an American rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, USA. To date the band has sold over 7 million albums, and have had a string of #1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut Come Clean has sold over 5 million copies...
covered it on their covers album Re:(disc)overed
Re:(disc)overed
Re:overed is the fifth studio album from U.S. post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd. It was released on August 29, 2011 on Arms Division Records.-Background:The band began recording the album in March 2011 and commenced within a three week period...
.
Personnel
- Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
: Lead vocals, Acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound... - James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
: Six string banjo, Backing vocals