“Old Man” is a 1972 song by Neil Young, featured on his landmark album Harvest. It was written about Louis Avila, the elderly caretaker of Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California, which Young purchased in 1970.
The song’s origin stems from a conversation during a blue Jeep tour of the property, where Avila questioned how a young man could afford such land. Young’s response, “just lucky, Louie, just real lucky,” sparked the song’s theme: despite vast differences in age and wealth, both men share fundamental human struggles, desires for love, and the inevitability of aging and loneliness.
- Release: Released as a single in spring 1972, it reached No. 4 in Canada and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Musicians: The recording features James Taylor on six-string banjo and vocals, and Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals.
- Recording: It was the first song recorded for the Harvest album at Quadrafonic Studios in Nashville, with drummer Kenny Buttrey instructed to play only with his left hand.
- Legacy: Often interpreted as a reflection on generational similarities, Young noted the song was one he wished he could have had with his own father, though it is explicitly dedicated to Avila.
[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
