My Old Man Lyrics
[Verse 1]
My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man keeping away my blues
[Verse 2]
He's my sunshine in the morning
He's my fireworks at the end of the day
He's the warmest chord I ever heard
Play that warm chord, play and stay, baby
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man keeping away my blues
[Bridge]
But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man keeping away my blues
[Verse 2]
He's my sunshine in the morning
He's my fireworks at the end of the day
He's the warmest chord I ever heard
Play that warm chord, play and stay, baby
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man keeping away my blues
[Bridge]
But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
[Verse 3]
Then he comes home
And he takes me in his loving arms
And he tells me all his troubles
And he tells me all my charms
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true, no
My old man keeping away my blues
[Bridge]
But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
[Verse 4]
My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true, no
My old man keeping away my lonesome blues
Then he comes home
And he takes me in his loving arms
And he tells me all his troubles
And he tells me all my charms
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true, no
My old man keeping away my blues
[Bridge]
But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
[Verse 4]
My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
[Chorus]
We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall
Keeping us tied and true, no
My old man keeping away my lonesome blues
About
Genius Annotation
Joni wrote this song about a fantasy of domesticity that harkens back to her relationship with Graham Nash, which ended while Joni was on a trip to Europe after her announcement that she was retiring from public performance.
During this trip, she sent him a telegram with the sentence, “if you hold sand too tightly in your hand it will run through your fingers.” Afterward they remained friends but she was no longer interested in the prospect of marrying Graham.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.All I Want
- 2.My Old Man
- 3.Little Green
- 4.Carey
- 5.Blue
- 6.California
- 8.River
Credits
Produced By
Written By
Recorded At
A&M Studios, Los Angeles, California
Release Date
June 22, 1971
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