Neil Young's "Old Man" - The Meaning (and Musicians) Behind the Song

The song "Old Man" first appeared on Neil Young's 1972 Harvest album. With its thumping and raggedly-picked acoustic guitar, high-tenor lead vocals and over-all folk sound and feel "Old Man" has become one of Neil Young's most memorable tunes. What was the inspiration behind this song and what famous musicians lent their talents to create this musical masterpiece?

"Old Man", which reached no. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1972, opens with Young singing: "Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were." As listeners we immediately find ourselves wondering about the identity of the old man. Was it Young's father? Grandfather? Of course there is always the possibility the "old man" is a metaphor and there really is no old man per se. However we have now come to learn there was in fact a specific old man to whom Young was singing.

In 1970 Neil Young purchased the Broken Arrow Ranch in Redwood City, California. Apparently it is the caretaker of this ranch who is the subject of this song. In Young's recent concert movie Heart of Gold he introduces "Old Man" by saying: "About that time when I wrote Heart of Gold and I was touring, I had also -- just, you know, being a rich hippie for the first time -- I had purchased a ranch, and I still live there today. And there was a couple living on it that were the caretakers, an old gentleman named Louis Avila and his wife Clara. And there was this old blue Jeep there, and Louis took me for a ride in this blue Jeep. He gets me up there on the top side of the place, and there's this lake up there that fed all the pastures, and he says, "Well, tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?" And I said, "Well, just lucky, Louie, just real lucky." And he said, "Well, that's the darndest thing I ever heard." And I wrote this song for him."

Of course knowing what we now know makes it that much easier to understand the rest of the song's lyrics which include: "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 cost, give me things that don't get lost. Like a coin that won't get tossed, rolling home to you."

Mystery solved. Which brings us to the question regarding the supporting artists on this classic song. The album's liner notes confirm Singer/Songwriter James Taylor played six string banjo (with guitar tunings) and sang backing vocals on the song. Singer Linda Ronstadt added her distinctive vocals as well. This combination of the day's mega-talents explains the unmistakable "sound" of the song. The mixture of Young's raw singing and guitar playing are perfectly counter-balanced by the sweet vocals and musical touches provided by Taylor and Ronstadt.

With a perfect blend of subject matter, strong (and haunting) melody, effective performance and guest appearances by singers James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, "Old Man" remains one of Neil Young's finest songs.

Kenn Morr http://www.kennmorr.com is an internationally acclaimed Singer/Songwriter, Performer, Producer and Author with six albums to his credit. Originally from Long Island, NY Kenn lives in the foothills of New England's Berkshire Mountains with his wife and two young sons.

Songwriting - How Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" Uses Rhyme As an Accelerator in Its Lyrics

When you write lyrics, they tend to work best when the meaning of your words is directly tied into what's happening musically. When all the elements of your song are fused together this way, it's called prosody.

Rhyme can be an incredibly powerful tool for tying the meaning of your words to your music. One way to do this is to use rhyme as an accelerator. For example, let's say you have a rhyme scheme that rhymes on every other line. We'll call this an ABAB rhyme scheme. It might look like this:

Now we're gonna rhyme (A)

It'll be so fun (B)

We'll do it in four lines (A)

Just like that, we're done (B)

In this ABAB scheme, the 'A' rhymes are the lines with the words "rhyme" and "lines" and the 'B' rhymes are "fun" and "done."

Once we've established this rhyme scheme in our song, it becomes what's expected throughout the song. If we change it, it'll change what the song makes us feel.

For example if we establish our lyric to be an ABAB rhyme scheme and then change it to an ABBB rhyme scheme the next time around, it'll feel different. Check it out:

Section 1

Now we're gonna rhyme (A)

It'll be so fun (B)

We'll do it in four lines (A)

Just like that, we're done (B)

Section 2

Now we're gonna rhyme (A)

It'll be so fun (B)

These lines are gonna run (B)

Just like that, we're done (B)

Future Grammy-winning lyrics for sure. Okay, maybe not. But lame lyrics aside, how did the second section feel compared to the first? Did you notice the acceleration of the last three lines in the second section? One of the functions of rhyme is it can act as an accelerator, when you space your rhymes close together.

In the example above we established our rhymes to happen at every other line, in section 1. Then we went against your expectations in section 2 by increasing the frequency of the rhyme, which made the lines feel accelerated.

strong>"Heart of Gold" by Neil young

Let's check out a great example of this concept in action. Who better to learn from than Neil Young? Check out the first verse of the song "Heart of Gold:"

I want to live, I want to give

I've been a miner for a heart of gold

It's these expressions I never give

That keep me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting old

This is essentially an ABABB rhyme scheme, in five lines. Technically, in lines one through four, they're not rhymes, but identities, since it's the same word being repeated ("give" and "live"). But that's beside the point for right now. Let's treat them as typical rhymes.

With the ABAB rhyme scheme that's established in the first four lines, there has been a certain rhyme pace that's become expected. So when the fifth line comes in with another 'B' rhyme, it's a surprise that accelerates that line.

Mixing Meaning With Your Rhymes

"So what?" you ask. "The fifth line accelerates... Big deal." Fair point. Here's why it's cool. This acceleration happens on the line "And I'm getting old." The implication of a line like "And I'm getting old" is "I'm getting old, quickly." Except he doesn't have to say "quickly" because that was implied with how the line was written. The acceleration due to two lines of rhyme back to back (after establishing a slower rhyme pattern previously) really helps us FEEL the aging process happening fast for him. It's the meaning of the lyric tied into the rest of the song. And in my opinion, it works very well. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.

This pattern continues throughout the song, but you'll get the gist after the first verse. So just listen to the first verse, through about 1:15 into the song.

You can hear it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZX8RAaRNIk

Other Factors

With moves like this, rhyme is always the most obvious contributor, because it stands out so clearly when we hear it. It can't be mistaken. But when you're using rhyme to highlight one of your ideas, it usually works best when combined with other tools. In the case of our line "and I'm getting old," a second tool being used is a change of line length.

If you check out the first four lines of the verse, you'll notice they're longer than the last line, "and I'm getting old." This helps drive home the idea about "I'm getting old quickly." When you establish a longer line length in previous lines, and then shorten it, it'll feel quicker. It's a second contributor to the same idea. And it contributes so nicely.

Use It

Experiment with this idea. If your lyrics give you a reason to accelerate (or decelerate), try supporting that meaning with rhyme, and even line length, if possible. See if you like the results you get compared to what you would have done beforehand. And don't forget to have fun.

For more lyric writing advice, watch your free lesson, "Writing Lyrics to Music," here: http://www.successforyoursongs.com/freeoffer

Anthony Ceseri is the owner of http://www.SuccessForYourSongs.com, a website dedicated to the growth and development of songwriters of all skill levels. Anthony's writings appear as examples in the book "Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises For Finding Your Voice" by Pat Pattison, an acclaimed lyric writing professor at Berklee College of Music.