Last week we heard ‘The Old Man’ sung at a funeral. It’s been on my mind ever since. It’s written by Irish song writer Phil Coulter – best known for pop success in the 1960s writing such songs as ‘Puppet on a String’ and ‘Congratulations’. He wrote ‘The Old Man’ in 1982 after his father died… reflecting on their shared experiences and the profound influence his dad had on his life. It expresses the best love between a father and a son.
The tears have all been shed now
We’ve said our last good-byes
His soul’s been blessed and he’s laid to rest
And it’s now I feel alone
He was more than just a father
A teacher my best friend
He can still be heard in the tunes we shared
When we play them on our own
I never will forget him for he made me what I am
Though he may be gone memory lingers on
And I miss him… The old man
There are a number of versions of ‘The Old Man. This one, sung by George Donaldson as part of ‘Celtic Thunder’ in 2007, is a particularly poignant version. Donaldson died of a heart attack in 2014, aged just forty-six, leaving a wife and thirteen-year-old daughter.
As a boy he’d take me walkin’
By mountain field and stream
And he showed me things not known to kings
And secret between him and me.
Like the colors of the pheasant
As he rises in the dawn
And how to fish and make a wish
Beside the Holly Tree
‘The Old Man’ has made me reflect on close family members who are no longer with us – my parents, my brother. I’ve thought about other good people, friends, who have died. Those who have taught me important life lessons, those who have shown me friendship and love, those who have modelled qualities that I aspire to – integrity, compassion, loyalty, humility, consistency…
Often such thoughts lead to gratitude; I’m certainly grateful. However, this song gives me permission to acknowledge loss and bereavement…
I thought he’d live forever
He seemed so big and strong
But the minutes fly and the years roll by
For a father and his son
And suddenly when it happened
There was so much left unsaid
No second chance to tell him thanks
For everything he’s done
I never will forget him for he made me what I am
Though he may be gone memory lingers on
And I miss him … The Old Man
Later this morning I shall go to church and sing ‘Christian’ songs. I hear this song from my Christian perspective. I remember my ‘spiritual fathers’, those who have taught me faith, those who have prayed for me, those who have shown me Jesus by their godly example. I pray that I won’t forget them; I recognise that they have made me what I am. I thank God for them, and this morning I miss them.
And I remember my strong, loving heavenly Father who has made me what I am… who does live for ever, unlike my human family and friends will never be absent or missed.
malcolmsmusings.org 
A wonderful song. The first three verses certainly make me think of what I got from my father; empathy, an enquiring mind and especially to question everything around us.
I never knew my father was an atheist until I was a teenager. I was a choir boy in a High Catholic church. I loved the “bells and smells” of it. My sister and I went to Sunday school. When I asked him why they sent us to Sunday school he said you have to make your own mind up about things and……it was his and mum’s time together. I was greatly embarrassed when he said that, but it amuses me now and reminds me of how any mention of the “s” word was met with utter embarrassment by both my parents.
With regards my questioning of everything I remember times I spoke my mind at school staff meetings. I was usually on my own with no support. However, after had other teachers say, “well done Alan, I completely agree with that”. I remember saying to one teacher “well why didn’t you back me up in there” and they told me I could get away with it because I was older and didn’t have long to go before retirement.
So, the moral is question everything but don’t expect everyone to support…..or agree.
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