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My Old Man Lyrics
My old man
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
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
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
But when he's gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
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
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
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
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
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
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
We don't need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
And he takes me in his loving arms
And he tells me all his troubles
And he tells me all my charms
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
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The bed's too big
The frying pan's too wide
He's a singer in the park
He's a walker in the rain
He's a dancer in the dark
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
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this is another one about graham, isn't it?
this is mine and my dad's song :) he loves joni, and when we're in the house on our own, we play "blue" on vinyll to death :) such an incredible album, and what a voice... i know she probably wrote it about a love interest, but i interpret it as a father-daughter relationship....but maybe that's 'cause i associate it with my dad..my old man!
The line 'he's a dancer in the dark' te me is just a poetic way of saying lover
I think the line refers to her lover's rebellious nature: he sings in the park and he walks in the rain and he dances in the dark. It's like he doesn't give a damn.
That's why they don't need to get married
This song is so beautiful. Joni has a way of truly expressing her feelings through the simplest of words - what a gift. Her voice, the lyrics, and the music in the song combine for such a powerful effect.
does the doncing in the dark line have anything to do with springsteins song dancing in the dark?
I know a man who is so much like this...
it's obviously about love. i particularly adore the part about when he's gone, the bed being too big, the frying pan being too wide. i think anyone who's ever been in love can completely identify with those lines.
this song is in no way a reference to Bruce Springsteens "Dancing in the dark" seeing as that song was not released until 1984 and Blue was released in 1971.
I love the simplicity of the lyrics,,,yet they convey so much emotion, the joy of a carefree and loving relationship, but also with the touch of loneliness that pervades so much of this album.
It's about her lover at the time, Graham Nash. "We don't need no piece of paper from the City Hall, keeping us tight and true" is Mitchell's way of saying she doesn't need (nor want) to get married. She famously rejected Nash's marriage proposal.