Old Man | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 D (Dsus4 Dsus2) :||
Chorus 1
| 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 D (Dsus4 Dsus2) |
Old man look at my life I’m a lot like you were.
| 6/4 Dm9add4 |
Old man look at my life I’m a lot like you were.
Instrumental 1
| 4/4 D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G |
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) F/C (Fsus2) |
Verse 1
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G |
Old man look at my life, twenty-four and there’s so much more.
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C F/C (Fsus2) |
Live alone in a paradise that makes me think of two.
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C G |
Love lost, such a cost, give me things that don’t get lost.
| D C | F/C (Fsus2) G (A B C D) |
Like a coin that won’t get tossed, rolling home to you.
Instrumental 2
| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G |
Chorus 2
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 G |
Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you.
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 G |
I need someone to love me the whole day through.
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 Csus2 |
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.
Instrumental 3
| D F (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G |
| D F (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) F (Fsus2) |
Verse 2
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G |
Lullabies, look in your eyes, run around the same old town.
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C F/C (Fsus2) |
Doesn’t mean that much to me, to mean that much to you.
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C G |
I’ve been first and last, look at how the time goes past.
| D C | F/C (Fsus2) G (A B C D) |
But I’m all alone at last, rolling home to you.
Instrumental 4
| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G |
Chorus 3
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 G |
Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you.
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 G |
I need someone to love me the whole day through.
| D (Dsus4) | Am7 Em7 Csus2 |
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true.
Instrumental 5
| 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 D (Dsus4 Dsus2) |
Outro
| 6/4 Dm9add4 |4/4 D (Dsus4 Dsus2) |
Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.
| 6/4 Dm9add4 |
Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.
Outro
| 4/4 D F (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G | D |
Old Man chords and progressions
Let’s start by looking at how to play the intro for Neil Young‘s Old Man using TAB.
Once you can play this (use the original recording and play along) the rest of Old Man’s chords become easy since the vibe has been established.
All those chords in brackets mean that you hammer on from the open string to the third (Csus2 and Fsus2), or from the 3rd to the 4th (D to Dsus4).
Here’s the instrumental 1, 3, and first half of the verse progression.
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) G |
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C (Csus2) F/C (Fsus2) |
You may feel that some of these chords should be played without the sus2, and that’s fine, experiment by playing along with the original.
The chord progression could be seen as a modal interchange where all chords are from D Dorian, apart from the first chord which has become major, making the modal inter change D Mixolydian. Or, and I prefer this, just see the D chord as a temporary change, IIx.
Here’s Old Man’s chord progression using Roman Numerals.
| IIx IV (IVsus2) | I (Isus2) V |
| IIX IV (IVsus2) | I (Isus2) IV (IVsus2) |
The second half of the verse is very similar, and looks like this:
| D F/C (Fsus2) | C G |
| D C | F/C (Fsus2) G (A B C D) |
The last notes in brackets are a bass line. Again, just play along with the original recording and it’ll all make sense.
Instrumental 2 is the same as the main part of the chorus, and looks like this:
| D (Dsus4 Dsus2) | Am7 Em7 G |
That D is still chord II, we play all notes around the m3rd! Am7 is VI, Em7 is III, G is V.
The last line of the chorus differs only in that it finishes on a Csus2.
What an incredible tune Neil has written here, this really is top-drawer songwriting. I knew this was great but after transcribing and analyzing it, I’m in awe.
Old Man chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
- The Drugs Don’t Work chords
- Heart Of Gold chords
- Needle And The Damage Done chords
- One More Cup Of Coffee chords
- Wish You Were Here chords
Neil Young
Neil Young started out with Buffalo Springfield, briefly joined Crosby, Stills & Nash, and collaborated with Pearl Jam but is best known for his solo career.
His best tunes include Harvest Moon, Heart Of Gold, Old Man, The Needle And The Damage Done, My My, Hey Hey, and Like A Hurricane.
Neil Young on the web
