"Don't Let the Old Man In" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

. It appears on his 2019 compilation album '' Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years'', and is also featured in the 2018 film '' The Mule''.

History

Keith met actor-director

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

at a charity golf tournament in

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also ...

, in 2018. At the time, Eastwood was working on his film '' The Mule''. Keith told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' that he was surprised by the energy Eastwood seemed to have despite being 88 years old at the time, at which point Eastwood remarked, "I don't let the old man in". Keith liked this line and immediately wrote the song, which is a ballad about a man dealing with his increasing age. He was also inspired by an anecdote told to him by his grandmother, about a friend of hers who did not know her exact age due to her not owning a

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...

. ''Billboard'' writer Cathy Applefield Olson described the song as "at once emotionally resigned and quietly triumphant". Olson also thought that the song's central theme of old age was appropriate to the plot line of ''The Mule'', which is about an elderly person becoming a drug courier. Soon after writing, Keith recorded a demo which he submitted to Eastwood. Keith was sick the day he recorded the demo, creating a "raspy, sleepy, tired, sick vocal". Eastwood liked the recording and decided to put it in ''The Mule'', feeling that the raspy delivery fit the mood of the song and the movie. Keith also produced a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song, directed by

Michael Salomon Michael Salomon (born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States) is an American music video/film director, who has directed many music videos, including many of Toby Keith's music videos. He directed the video for Metallica's "One", which was no ...

. On September 28, 2023, five years after the song's original release, Keith performed the song at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards after being awarded the Country Icon award. The performance was one of his first following his diagnosis with

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

the previous year. Following the performance, the song was reissued as a single to country radio with an impact date of October 30, 2023. Following Keith's death in February 2024, a tribute special entitled ''Toby Keith: American Icon'' was put together to celebrate his career with performances of his hit songs by other country music recording artists. It aired on August 28, 2024, and featured his youngest daughter, Krystal Keith, performing the song.

Chart performance

"Don't Let the Old Man in" debuted and spent one week at number 45 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of December 22, 2018. After Keith's death on February 5, 2024, the song would re-enter the Hot Country Songs chart, reaching a new peak at number 22 for the week of February 17, 2024. It was one of five Toby Keith songs to re-enter the chart that week.

References

{{Toby Keith singles 2018 songs 2018 singles Toby Keith songs Songs written by Toby Keith Show Dog-Universal Music singles Songs about old age Music videos directed by Michael Salomon 2023 singles