Blog Entry 10: Song Quote: Old Man

"Old man look at me know, 24 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, rollin home to you. Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you. I need someone to love me the whole day through. I well look in my eye's and you can tell it's true" (Young, 1972)

One of the great song writers of our time, Neil Young, wrote several classics. This song A about his relationship with his father. I have struggled for years to determine if it is a positive message or one that troubled the writer. The first line "Ole man look at me now, 24 and there's so much more" implies to me that he feels he has or is falling short of what he wants or should be doing. It also could mean that he is doing much more than what his father was at the age of 24. The next line in the song is, to me, the most perplexing, "Live alone in a paradise that makes me think of two". This statement contradicts itself in that it is a paradise but he is alone and thinking of his father or a relationship with another person? The next line "Love lost such a cost, give me things that don't get lost, like a coin that won't get tossed,rollin home to you". This is a reference to losing love. But who's love, his fathers? I believe he is speaking of his fathers love here? The reference "rolling home to you" leads me to believe that. The next three lines are the chorus and he is expressing that he is just like his father, and he is missing the love that he has always wanted. I love the last line of the chorus that tells his father to "look in my eyes and you can tell it's true".

This song is a great song and has always struck a chord with me. I think one of the most significant relationships a boy has is with his father. Neil Young is not a great singer but has a unique voice and is a very convincing performer. Watch his live performance of this song on youtube.