"Old Man" is a song written and performed by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer-songwriter and guitarist

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

from his 1972 album ''

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

''. "Old Man" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

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.

Background

The song was written for the caretaker of the

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased for $350,000 in 1970 ($2,688,252.58 as of 2022). 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 Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

played six-string

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

(tuned like a guitar) and sang on the song, and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

also contributed vocals. In the film '' 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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

(in which he says that he purchased the ranch from "two lawyers").

Uses in popular culture and covers

* In 2005,

Lizz Wright Elizabeth LaCharla Wright (born January 22, 1980) is an American jazz and gospel singer. Life and career Wright was born in the small town of Hahira, Georgia, one of three children and the daughter of a minister and the musical director of th ...

covered it on her live album ''

Dreaming Wide Awake ''Dreaming Wide Awake'' is the second album by singer and composer Lizz Wright, released in 2005 (see 2005 in music). It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Top Contemporary Jazz chart. The song 'Hit the Ground' featured in an episode of ' ...

'', recorded at Allaire, Shokan, New York the year before. It also appears in the film ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so fa ...

''. * In 2008, during the memorial service for

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

, the song was chosen to be played with a slideshow of pictures from Ledger's life. * Liam Finn ( Neil Finn's son) & EJ Barnes ( Jimmy Barnes's daughter) covered the song on the TV show '' RocKwiz''. * In 2011, Dallas Green, of

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwr ...

and Alexisonfire, covered the song at The 2011 Juno Awards, and post-grunge band

Puddle of Mudd Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' Co ...

covered it on their covers album '' Re:(disc)overed''. That same year

Redlight King Redlight King is a Canadian-American rock band formed in Hamilton, Ontario in 2009. Redlight King have recorded two full-length albums and performed over 1,000 live shows including the largest festivals in North America and Europe. Their credit ...

sampled "Old Man" on the album ''Something for the Pain.'' It was the first time Young had sanctioned a sample of this song. * In 2015, Young appeared on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' and performed the song with Fallon as his Neil Young character. * In 2022,

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

covered ''Old Man'' to promote a Sunday Night Football match between the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. The song is a nod to quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

, the oldest active player in the NFL (in 2022) at 45 years old. The line “24 and there’s so much more” refers to Brady and Kansas City quarterback

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...

winning Super Bowls when they were 24 years old. After the commercial was released Neil Young posted a still image from the video for his 1988 anti-commercialization song

This Note's for You ''This Note's for You'' is the 16th studio album by Canadian / American musician Neil Young, released April 11, 1988 on Reprise. It was originally credited to "Young and the Bluenotes." Part of the album's concept centered on the commercialism of ...

in apparent protest of Beck's cover of ''Old Man'' being used in a commercial.

Charts

Personnel

— guitars, lead vocals *

Ben Keith Bennett Keith Schaeufele (March 6, 1937 – July 26, 2010), better known by his stage name Ben Keith, was an American musician and record producer. Known primarily for his work as a pedal steel guitarist with Neil Young, Keith was a fixture of ...

—

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

* James McMahon — piano *

—

banjo guitar Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banjo tuned in the standard tuning of a six-string guitar (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4) from lowest to highest strings. The six-string banjo was introduced in the late 19th century. Less widesprea ...

, backing vocals *

— backing vocals *

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

— bass *

Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to Country Music Television, CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashvi ...

— drums

References

{{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles Neil Young songs Reprise Records singles Songs written by Neil Young Song recordings produced by Elliot Mazer Songs about old age Song recordings produced by Neil Young