Songs for Grandpa
Thirty-four songs about grandfathers. There are almost none written about them, which is odd given how many people are looking, so most of this page is his own music and songs about older men in general. Sorted by where each one belongs.
Updated September 202634 songs
Ten about grandfathers and old men
- Grandpa (Tell Me ’Bout the Good Old Days)The Judds · 1986
The one song written from a grandchild to a grandfather. If you take one thing from this page, take this.
- Old ManNeil Young · 1972
Written to a ranch caretaker in his seventies. A young man recognising himself in an old one.
- Leader of the BandDan Fogelberg · 1981
About a father, and it fits a grandfather whose trade or craft was the thing he handed down.
- My Old ManZac Brown Band · 2017
The modern version. Plain language and nothing anybody has to flinch at.
- The Living YearsMike + The Mechanics · 1988
About saying it before it is too late. With grandparents that window is usually shorter than you think.
- Ol’ Man RiverJerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II · 1927
About endurance and work. For a man who did hard things for a long time without discussing them.
- Sixteen TonsTennessee Ernie Ford · 1955
About work that takes everything, sung with a joke in it. For a grandfather who did exactly that.
- The DanceGarth Brooks · 1990
About being glad you had it even knowing how it ends. Works for a living grandfather too.
- Forever YoungBob Dylan · 1974
A blessing rather than a tribute, and it runs both directions between generations.
- What a Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong · 1967
Two minutes, ends properly, and nobody has ever objected to it at any family occasion.
His decade, not the one you remember him in
The commonest mistake with grandparents is choosing music from when you knew him rather than from when he was young. A grandfather turning eighty-five in 2026 was a teenager around 1955. The songs he knows every word to are older than the ones you associate with him, usually by a full decade, and the difference between the two is the difference between a nice gesture and one that lands.
Ask his brothers, his sisters, or anyone still alive who was in the house. They will name it in about five seconds, and they will usually name something you have never heard of, which is exactly the point. Second best is to ask him directly, which most people never do because they assume he does not care.
There are very few real songs about grandfathers. The Judds wrote the only well-known one. Everything else on this page is either about fathers, about old men in general, or from his own collection — and that is fine as long as you know it. A borrowed song chosen with obvious care beats a generic one that happens to have the right noun in it.
If he is in his eighties or nineties, the window for doing this is not indefinite. That is not a sales point, it is just true, and it is the reason people find this page. Whatever you were going to do at Christmas, do it in March.
By where it belongs
The records from his decade
What was on when he was young. Go earlier than instinct suggests — usually a decade earlier.
- Sentimental JourneyDoris Day with Les Brown · 1945
The song American servicemen came home to. For that generation it means one specific thing.
- The Way You Look TonightFred Astaire · 1936
If he and your grandmother had a song, there is a real chance it was this one.
- UnforgettableNat King Cole · 1951
Warm and unhurried, and the title does the work so nobody has to make a speech.
- Fly Me to the MoonFrank Sinatra · 1964
The version everyone means when they say the title. Light enough for a family lunch.
- Georgia on My MindRay Charles · 1960
For a grandfather who left somewhere and has talked about it for sixty years.
- Ring of FireJohnny Cash · 1963
For a grandfather who is not solemn. It will make the room laugh, which is allowed.
- King of the RoadRoger Miller · 1965
Cheerful and short. Good near the end of an afternoon.
- Take the “A” TrainDuke Ellington · 1941
Instrumental and bright. Fills a room without demanding anyone stop talking.
From the grandchildren
Modern, and none the worse for it. A grandfather being sent something from his grandchild’s world is the point.
- PhotographEd Sheeran · 2015
Send it with an old picture attached. Grandchildren reach for this one first for good reason.
- Humble and KindTim McGraw · 2016
A list of rules for being decent. If they were his rules, this is them set to music.
- Simple ManLynyrd Skynyrd · 1973
Advice from an older person to a young one. Exactly what a grandfather is for.
- LandslideFleetwood Mac · 1975
About change and being afraid of it. Short, which is mercy.
- See You AgainCarrie Underwood · 2012
Says goodbye without saying gone, which is often what grandchildren mean.
- If Heaven Wasn’t So Far AwayJustin Moore · 2011
Plain-spoken country about wanting one more afternoon. Popular in the South for good reason.
- Rivers and RoadsThe Head and the Heart · 2011
For a grandchild who lives far away and minds about it.
- Here Comes the SunThe Beatles · 1969
The one song every generation in a family accepts without discussion.
If he served, or worked with his hands
Two things a lot of men of that generation did and almost never discussed. These acknowledge it without asking him to.
- Eternal Father, Strong to SaveWords by William Whiting · 1860
The Navy Hymn. For anyone who served at sea it means something exact.
- America the BeautifulKatharine Lee Bates & Samuel A. Ward · 1910
Gentler than the anthem and easier to sing. A good compromise when opinions differ.
- Working ManRita MacNeil · 1988
A choir of Cape Breton miners. For a grandfather who went underground or into a plant.
- AllentownBilly Joel · 1982
About a steel town emptying out. For a man whose industry disappeared around him.
- Big Bad JohnJimmy Dean · 1961
A story song about a working man. He will have heard it when it was new.
- Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen · 1975
For a grandfather who wanted out of somewhere and either went or did not.
- The Way We WereBarbra Streisand · 1973
For a man who has outlived most of the people in his stories.
- My WayFrank Sinatra · 1969
For a stubborn man who turned out to have been right about some of it.
Three demonstration songs
What a song about your grandfather sounds like
We wrote these from made-up answers to the same five questions you would fill in. They are not customer work. Since almost nothing has been written about grandfathers, this is one of the clearest cases on the site for having something made.
Start his song- Biscuit Tin ElaineAcoustic · a mother who worked eleven years of night shifts2:50
- Ray at Sixty-OneCountry · thirty-one years at the plant, same truck since nineteen3:29
- Priya at DawnPop · the first in her family to finish2:27
How it works
Three steps. The first one is the only hard part.
- 1Tell the storyFive questions. Who it’s for, the occasion, three details only you two know, the feeling you want, and the names that have to be in it.
- 2Pick the soundCountry, pop, acoustic, R&B, gospel or rock. A man’s voice or a woman’s.
- 3Listen, then unlockA 30-second preview in about two minutes. Pay only if you love it. You get the full song, the lyrics, and a page you can send.
Common questions
- Are there any songs actually about grandfathers?
- Essentially one well-known song: “Grandpa (Tell Me ’Bout the Good Old Days)” by The Judds. Everything else is about fathers, about old men in general, or borrowed from his own collection — which is fine, as long as you know that is what you are doing.
- How do I find out what music he likes?
- Ask his brothers and sisters, or anyone still alive who was in the house when he was young. They will name it in five seconds. Second best is asking him, which almost nobody does because they assume he does not care.
- Which decade should I choose from?
- When he was between sixteen and twenty-two, which is usually a full decade earlier than the music you associate with him. A grandfather turning eighty-five in 2026 was a teenager around 1955.
- What can a grandchild send that will not feel awkward?
- “Photograph” with an old picture attached is the move grandchildren reach for most, and it works. Something from your own world sent to his is the point rather than a problem.
- Can I get a song written about my grandfather?
- Yes, and this is one of the clearest cases for it, since so little exists. Answer five questions — his name, the occasion, three things only your family knows, the feeling you want and the music he likes — and you will hear a 30-second preview in about two minutes. The full song is $19.