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The Old Man Down The Road Lyrics
He take the thunder from the mountain, he take the lightning from the sky,
He bring the strong man to his begging knee, he make the young girl's mama cry.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump and run;
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
He got the voices speak in riddles, he got the eye as black as coal,
He got a suitcase covered with rattlesnake hide, and he stands right in the road.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump up run away;
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
Ah!
He make the river call your lover, he make the barking of the hound,
Put a shade across the window, when the Old Man comes around.
You got to hidey-hide, you got to jump and run again;
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
The Old Man is down the road.
Ah!
You got ta, you got ta, you got ta, hidey-hidey-hide!
He bring the strong man to his begging knee, he make the young girl's mama cry.
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
He got a suitcase covered with rattlesnake hide, and he stands right in the road.
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
Put a shade across the window, when the Old Man comes around.
You got to hidey-hidey-hide, the Old Man is down the road.
The Old Man is down the road.
You got ta, you got ta, you got ta, hidey-hidey-hide!
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An aside: Fogerty was sued by his former record company for plagiarism in writing this song. What song did it allegedly rip-off???? wait for it ............ "Run Through The Jungle" another song written by the same man, John Fogerty ! Thankfully the legal action was unsuccessful.
Someone told me that John Fogerty lived near Ronald Reagan's ranch at the time. He is the old man refered to in this song.
@yrogerg1 <snort> Somehow I doubt that Ronald Reagan was ever held in that kind of superstitious dread.
@yrogerg1 <snort> Somehow I doubt that Ronald Reagan was ever held in that kind of superstitious dread.
@yrogerg1
@yrogerg1
Burp.
Burp.
I always thought the old man was a conjurer or voodoo priest, controlling everything with his spells. (Snakeskin is a big thing in conjuring, therefore his rattlesnake suitcase.) The song has a spooky feel that backs it up. I can just picture some strange old dude in the back bayou giving everybody the shivers--is he a witch? That stuff's just fakery...right?
This song is probably about John's former manager, Saul Zanz. Zanz was apparently an evil man who conned Creedence Clearwater Revival in many ways. He is probably the old man that you've got to hidey-hide from.
Ironically Zanz sued Fogerty for this song, not for defamation, but because it sounded like "Run Through the Jungle," which Fogerty wrote. Thankfully, Zanz lost.
Zanz is now dead. John doesn't miss him.
Creedence were such a great musical band. Lyrically, this song is a mishmash of terms, sounds and words that happened to fit the melody without any real meaning behind them. Michael Stipe did the same thing for most of REMs career. Any meaning given to them is purely personal and unintended at all by Fogerty himself. As long as people find its 'meaning', that's good enough in the end
John Fogerty started with a random lyric idea. "Somewhere down the road". He looked at it and asked "What\'s down the road.". The answer was "someone terrifying". Sometimes song lyrics aren\'t metaphors. Sometimes they are about exactly what they describe. In this case a terrifying sorcerer. However some people do suggest that Fogerty got subconscious inspiration from the owner of the record label who had his old band Creedence Clearwater Revival under a contract and who was indeed a terrible old man with a really awful contract. That same man was the one who sued Fogerty because The Old Man Down Road sounded too much like...Fogerty. He sued Fogerty for ownership of Fogerty\'s distinctive style of music. \n\nAnd that\'s as close to trying to own someone\'s soul as anyone can get in the real world.
I don't know what the song means. The only thing I can infer is that the old man is a metaphor for something frightening. Maybe God on judgment day? Hmm... I don't hear this song much anymore, but it's a very good song and I wish I knew what it was about.
Yeah the "old man" has a sinister connotation.
Yeah the "old man" has a sinister connotation.
He's talking about death I think. Growing old then dying type of metaphor with The Old Man is Down the Road lyric like Your on your way, be scared
That makes sense TheShill, thanks for that comment. Well, this song came out in 1985 I think but the old man sure has not slowed down Fogerty's rocking. He has some good recent live performances, and he's still touring now.
that's pretty interesting yrogerg1, man but i love the feel of this song though