Country & Folk, Intermediate Acoustic, Songbook A-Z

Old Man Chords | Neil Young Guitar Lesson

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Old Man | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

||: 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 Dsus2 (D Dsus4) :||

Chorus 1

Instrumental 1

| 4/4 D Fadd9 | C6/9 G5 |
| D Fadd9 | C6/9 Fadd9 |

Verse 1

| D Fadd9 | C6/9 G |
Old man look at my life, twenty-four and there’s so much more.
| D Fadd9 | C Fadd9 |
Live alone in a paradise that makes me think of two.
| D Fadd9 | C6/9 G |
Love lost, such a cost, give me things that don’t get lost.
| D C | F G (A B C) |
Like a coin that won’t get tossed, rolling home to you.

Instrumental 2

| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G |

Chorus 2

Instrumental 3

Verse 2

Lullabies, look in your eyes, run around the same old town.
Doesn’t mean that much to me, to mean that much to you.
I’ve been first and last, look at how the time goes past.
But I’m all alone at last, rolling home to you.

Instrumental 4

| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G |

Chorus 3 (as chorus 2)

Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you.
I need someone to love me the whole day through.
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.

Instrumental 5

| 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 D (Dsus4 Dsus2) |

Outro

End

| 4/4 D Fadd9 | C6/9 G5 | D |

Old Man Chords: A Deep Dive into Neil Young’s Folk-Blues Fusion

Neil Young’s Old Man features a distinctive intro that can be described using chord names:

||: 6/4 Dm9add4 | 4/4 Dsus2 (D Dsus4) :||

However, simply naming the chords won’t capture the nuances of how they’re played. For that, you’ll need TAB—here’s a link to that section of the lesson: Old Man – Guitar Lesson with TAB.

Once you’ve learned the part, the chord names provide insight into the intervals used and serve as a helpful reminder. The intro is also played for the first chorus.

As great as the intro and first chorus are, the verse chords are even more impressive. Here, Neil shifts from a D major chord instead of D minor, but when F enters, it suggests that Dm was implied—such a clever move.

This interplay between D major and D minor is essential in blending blues and folk influences. Notice how the verse varies by first moving to G (which acts as IV in D major), then F (which functions as I in D minor):

This shift between D minor (Aeolian, if we’re in F) and D major (Ionian, if we’re in D) is a classic example of modal interchange.

The verse also has its own TAB, slightly adapted for solo guitar (see the link above).

After the first verse, we reach an instrumental section that follows the same progression as the second chorus:

||: D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G :||
| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 Cadd9 |

There’s also TAB for this section, which gives you everything you need to play Old Man‘s chords. Once you’ve practised using the TAB, a simple chord chart will be enough to guide you. Here’s one I made for you.

Old Man Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro

Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Old Man chord chart PDF.

This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Old Man chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app you can change the key, although I can’t see how that would work for Old Man’s chords…

Old Man is one of Neil Young’s finest songs from his golden era!

Released in 1972, Old Man followed Heart of Gold and featured The Needle and the Damage Done as its B-side. Few artists can claim to have released three such iconic songs in succession.

Neil’s brilliance as a songwriter is undeniable, but when you dive deeper—transcribing his music in detail—you realise it goes beyond greatness. This is songwriting at its absolute best.

Personally, my respect for Neil has only grown through transcribing what I consider his greatest hits. Revisiting his ’70s albums after this deep dive was a revelation. I highly recommend any aspiring songwriter or guitarist do the same—it’s an absolute goldmine.

Old Man Chords: Continue Learning

Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Old Man (Neil Young) Guitar Lesson with TAB.

Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: