The Meaning Behind Toby Keith’s Solemn Ballad “Don’t Let the Old Man In”

After receiving the first Country Icon Award at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards on Thursday (September 28), Toby Keith shared an emotional performance of his 2018 ballad “Don’t Let the Old Man In.”

The poignant performance marked a rare return to the stage for Keith, who revealed in 2022 that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

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The Meaning

For Keith, who released the song on his 2019 compilation Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years, the lyrics became more resonant within his own life in recent years.

In the song, the “old man” is a metaphor for death. The lyrics face mortality, the fight to live and survive, regardless of one’s situation.

Don’t let the old man in
I wanna leave this alone
Can’t leave it up to him
He’s knocking on my door

And I knew all of my life
That someday it would end
Get up and go outside
Don’t let the old man in

Many moons I have lived
My body’s weathered and worn
Ask yourself how would you be
If you didn’t know the day you were born

Despite the hardship, and the effects of time, the narrator laughs at the face of death.

When he rides up on his horse
And you feel that cold bitter wind
Look out your window and smile
Don’t let the old man in

Clint Eastwood

“Don’t Let the Old Man In” was originally written by Keith for Clint Eastwood’s 2018 film The Mule, based on the true story of a WWII veteran in his 80s who worked as a courier (mule) for a Mexican drug cartel. Keith was inspired to write the song after a conversation he had with Eastwood while the two played golf.

Eastwood, who was about to turn 88, revealed he was about to start working on a new movie called The Mule. When Keith asked him “How do you do it, man?” Eastwood responded, “I just get up every morning and go out. And I don’t let the old man in.”

Keith immediately started writing around Eastwood’s words, and what he knew about his character in the film and became consumed by the song. “People were talking to me and they would say, ‘Did you hear what I just said?’ and I was like, ‘No,’ because I wasn’t listening to any conversations,” said Keith. “I was consumed by ‘Don’t Let the Old Man In.’ I worked so hard on it. When I finally sang the line, I thought, it’s got to be dark, it’s got to be a ballad and it’s got to be simple.” 

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When it was time for Keith to record the demo, he was sick, which worked in his favor when singing the darker ballad. “I was sick as a dog that day,” remembered Keith. “I was coughing and sneezing and thinking, this is terrible. I gave it the best vocal I could that day, and I sent it off. It’s a real raspy, sleepy, tired, sick vocal. I said, ‘Well now you’ve got a reference, and I’ll go back and put a vocal on it for you.’ ”

After hearing Keith’s song, Eastwood wanted to feature it in the film and didn’t want the vocals changed.

“He wanted it sick and tired and dark like that,” said Keith.

Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI