This Old Man

THIS OLD MAN

CHORUS
This old man named Marlin
Was a curiosity
In a shack in Murphy’s Bottom
By the Allegheny
He and his dog Skeeter
Lived a life frozen in time
But this old man named Marlin
Became a friend of mine

VERSE 1
Just 30 miles from Pittsburgh
Near the Armstrong County line
I stumbled into that hollow
‘Round 1979
Though he used a shotgun
To keep strangers away
Marlin and Skeeter
Welcomed me that day

VERSE 2
He was never married
Had no friends or family
No phone or running water
No electricity
The old man mined his own coal
With tools that were hand hewn
But his dream was a nice place
With a bulb in every room

REPEAT CHORUS

VERSE 3
It’s not hard to jog my memory
Of those days from long ago
Of Marlin in his pick-up
On the wrong side of the road
He could spin some tales
He was one true son of a gun
Like when he was a pilot
And flew for Airforce One

VERSE 4
But the day came in late winter
Of 1999
When smoke from Marlin’s chimney
That assured he was alive
Wasn’t seen in the hollow
As I trudged in through the snow
I knew it was the end
For this friend I came to know

REPEAT CHORUS