4 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Old Man and Me (When I Get to Heaven) Lyrics
Well an old man said to me
In a voice filled with pain
Where you going young man
Said I’m going to fight a war
Gonna fight for my country
In some foreign land
He said "The sun will never hurt you
Never harmed anyone
But you must realize"
If you try to stare her down
She will win in the end
She will burn your eyes
She will burn them
Seen a million places
Seen a million faces die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get to Heaven
He said "Boy I was young once
Yeah I was tough
Sailing on Uncle Sam’s boat
Hey I could kill the enemy
I could die on foreign streets
But I could not vote
But now you walk by me
You won’t talk to me
Say this is my fate
But every time you walk the streets boy
Most of them you meet
You see it’s you they hate
It’s you...
Seen a million faces
Seen a million places die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get to Heaven
I hope I get there
Seen a million places
Seen a million faces die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get there
See this woman sitting next to me
She’s been there for a long, long time
And when I fell, she picked me up
When I cried, she wiped my tears
I thank god she’s mine
And when I leave this world
She won’t have anything
But her love for me
‘Cause the man took everything else
Made me hate myself
So just let her be boy
Won’t you let her be
In a voice filled with pain
Where you going young man
Said I’m going to fight a war
Gonna fight for my country
In some foreign land
He said "The sun will never hurt you
Never harmed anyone
But you must realize"
If you try to stare her down
She will win in the end
She will burn your eyes
She will burn them
Seen a million faces die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get to Heaven
Yeah I was tough
Sailing on Uncle Sam’s boat
Hey I could kill the enemy
I could die on foreign streets
But I could not vote
But now you walk by me
You won’t talk to me
Say this is my fate
But every time you walk the streets boy
Most of them you meet
You see it’s you they hate
It’s you...
Seen a million places die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get to Heaven
I hope I get there
Seen a million faces die
And I wonder who will walk with me
When I get there
She’s been there for a long, long time
And when I fell, she picked me up
When I cried, she wiped my tears
I thank god she’s mine
And when I leave this world
She won’t have anything
But her love for me
‘Cause the man took everything else
Made me hate myself
So just let her be boy
Won’t you let her be
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
at first i thought this was just a normal coming of age tune, but when i see the lyrics its blatently obvious that theres a sense of anger due to the racism experienced by the "old man" how he could die in foreign streets but i could not vote.. its shocking no one has commented on this yet
I think you are mistaken about an allusion to racism. Being sent “to fight a war in some foreign land” is a reference to Viet Nam and the fact that the boys being butchered there for nothing were not even old enough to vote (voting age was still 21 at the time). That was one of the constant arguments being made at the time as the war protests raged on. “It’s you they hate” is a reference to VN vets who were scorned by draft dodgers and other radicals when they returned home for complying with the draft and...
I think you are mistaken about an allusion to racism. Being sent “to fight a war in some foreign land” is a reference to Viet Nam and the fact that the boys being butchered there for nothing were not even old enough to vote (voting age was still 21 at the time). That was one of the constant arguments being made at the time as the war protests raged on. “It’s you they hate” is a reference to VN vets who were scorned by draft dodgers and other radicals when they returned home for complying with the draft and going to VN. Note also that the old man in the official video is white.
i think it's about the rejection that Vietnam veterans felt when they got back. God bless America and everyone who does right.
This is a great tune no doubt... This is a veteran and quite possibly from the Vietnam era or Korea who is very sad and quite depressive. He fought in the Navy on Uncles ship and when he got home, he couldn\'t vote, which bring in the race item. \nI\'m sorry about that, but as a white male, I remember coming home from the middle east in Desert Storm to Westover ARB for the night before heading to Dover, and our bus taking us to a hotel got egged by war protesters, so we all get it sometime, but some get it more than others. \nI also feel the last verse is about the old man\'s wife who took care of him because of his bitterness. \nAgain, many vets are suffering but there is help if they want it. I work a lot to get vets help for the ones who think they can\'t get any help. \nGreat song and I hope the writer shares what lead him to write it.
incredible song! for my is about sometimes you have to hear to more experienced people, also leave me with the felling that the old man is very depressed