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Old Hippie
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Wikipedia article
"'Old Hippie'" is a song written by David Bellamy, and recorded by American country music duo The Bellamy Brothers. It was released in April 1985 as the first single from their album 'Howard & David'.
The song reached No. 2 on the 'Billboard' Hot Country Singles chart in July 1985[ The Bellamy Brothers Chart History] and No. 1 on the 'RPM' Country Tracks chart in Canada. In June 2014, 'Rolling Stone' magazine ranked "Old Hippie" 95th in their list of the 100 greatest country songs.
Content
The song is about the unnamed title character, an aging hippie who uses marijuana, listens to the Woodstock-influenced rock music of the late 1960s, mourns the Murder of John Lennon in 1980, and for years refuses to let go of his lifestyle, despite societal changes around him. It is also explained that he was drafted to Vietnam and forced to "become a man while he was still a boy." Afterward, he began waiting for something good to happen in his life, before adopting his lifestyle. Eventually, the man does change, taking up such interests as jogging while staying away from parties and nightclubs.
Sequel(s)
A decade after the song's release, the brothers recorded a sequel song titled "Old Hippie (The Sequel)". The song follows the same unnamed title character 10 years after the original. Just as with "Old Hippie," the sequel sees the mannow with a thinning hairlinecontinuing to struggle with his memories of Vietnam and changes in society, only with updated references.Howard and David re-visited the "Old Hippie" character once again on their 1996 holiday release, "Tropical Christmas." The chorus in the "Old Hippie Christmas" version goes, "'It's an Old Hippie Christmas, weather's cold and hearts are warm. Mama smokes the turkey, while Daddy smokes the farm. It's an Old Hippie Christmas, just full of yuletide fun. Jesus must've been a hippie, peace and love to everyone...'" In "Old Hippie 3 (Saved)", from the 2007 album 'Jesus Will Come', the mannow 55has found Jesus. "'He still thinks about the crazy days but thanks his God above that he traded in the love-ins for a greater kind of love.'"
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*List of anti-war songs
References
Category:Songs about nostalgia
Category:Songs about hippies
Category:Songs about old age
Category:1985 singles
Category:1985 songs
Category:The Bellamy Brothers songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Emory Gordy Jr.
Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen
Category:MCA Records singles
Category:Curb Records singles
Category:Songs written by David Bellamy (singer)
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