‘My Old Man Was Right’ by Luke Combs - Lyrics & Meaning

Across his fifth studio album, Fathers & Sons, modern day country icon Luke Combs explores his experiences and lessons learned so far as a father of two, trading in his raucous party anthems for more introspective musings on domestic life and the importance of family.

Notching a dozen songs about various aspects of the relationships between dads and their sons, it's an album wading through weighty subjects with big payoffs as we see yet another side to the larger-than-life hitmaker.

One of the last offerings on the album, 'My Old Man Was Right,' takes this sentiment a step further as he depicts how his relationship and advice from his own father has set up to do the same with his children in the years to come.

As with the rest of the album, and much of Combs' material in recent years, 'My Old Man Was Right' sees the same trio of co-producers behind the soundboard: Combs, Chip Matthews & Jonathan Singleton.

Throughout the record, some of the tracks include some new names and unfamiliar co-writers not often seen in Combs' writing circle, as well as a handful of outside cuts. This song, however, features one of the finest and most revered lyricists in modern country music: Lori McKenna.

A songwriter with an intuitive understanding on how to wield a pen and craft a hook, McKenna is one of the writers behind some of your favorite songs from the last twenty years, including Hunter Hayes' 'I Want Crazy,' Little Big Town's 'Girl Crush,' Tim McGraw's 'Humble and Kind,' Carrie Underwood's 'Cry Pretty,' Taylor Swift's 'I Bet You Think About Me,' Parker McCollum's 'Burn It Down' and many more, with other cuts coming from the likes of Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Dan + Shay, Megan Moroney, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Brandy Clark and George Strait, to name a few.

With such a refined lyrical visionary at his side, it's no wonder that Combs was able to dig deep into this slow-rolling contemplative ballad.

"He handed me the keys and knew I'd take some wrong turns
He quit smoking and begged me not to try
He'd say, 'Get too close to the fire, and Son, you'll get burned'
But I was too young to know my old man was right"

Going back to when he turned 16, Combs opens up 'My Old Man Was Right' with his first set of keys and his father's quiet reluctance to hand them over, knowing that his son would likely make some boneheaded mistakes along the way.

Elsewhere during his teen years, Combs makes mention of how his father warned him to never pick up bad habits like smoking, cautioning him that if you "get too close to the fire" the unfortunate truth is that "you'll get burned." However, being young, naive and just a kid, Combs wasn't able to really take these things to heart until much later on.

"I cranked that car and swore I'd never come back
As I took a drag of a half-smoked Marlboro Light
Well, I could take the heat so I held on to that lit match
'Cause I was too young to know my old man was right"

Hopping into his (likely not so shiny) hotrod, a young and carefree Combs explains that with nothing but open road and possibility ahead of him, he was never going to come back to his little home town.

Picking up the bad habit his dad warned him about, Combs was convinced that he could stand the heat and the pressure of life without anyone's help... once again due to the fact that he was too young to understand that a father's intuition and guidance is always right.

"He said, 'Lessons, they ain't gotta come the hard way
But you'll be hell-bent to learn 'em on your own
It may take your whole life but I bet in due time
Son, you'll find your old man was right'"

Holding steadfast to the wisdom that his father imparted to him when he was growing up, Combs reiterates it here that these lessons in life don't have to be hard fought battles, but he knows that his son is hard-headed and will likely choose the road paved in difficulty.

Though it might take all of his life to understand these truths and put them to practice, his father rests assured that one day down the road, he'll look back and understand that his dad was only trying to help him avoid some of these pitfalls. Perhaps next time, he may just take his dad's word for it and trust him rather than fighting it.

"He said, 'Stand your ground, let your heart fall in love
It may break ya, but it's just part of life
And the good ones always love you just like Jesus does'
But I was too young to know my old man was right"

Moving on to more profound advice for a young Combs, his father explains some of the realities of love and heartbreak.

Encouraging his son to follow his heart and fall in love deeply and fiercely, his dad notes that sometimes you're going to end up heartbroken, and that's just a part of life. However, one day the right one will always come along and provide you with a life-giving kind of love just like the Lord above.

"Now it's his turn to watch me be the old man
With my baby boy lying by my side
And every lesson that he taught me, I hope I teach him
'Cause I'm old enough to know my old man was right"

As we get to the final chorus, we find the tables have now turned. Grown up with a son (or two) of his own, Combs notes that now it's his turn to be the "old man."

Only holding on to the hope that he'll be able to remember all the lessons he learned from his father before him, Combs now understands that all along the way, his dad was right and he hopes his sons understand that, too.

"He handed me the keys and knew I'd take some wrong turns
He quit smoking and begged me not to try
He'd say, 'Get too close to the fire, and Son, you'll get burned'
But I was too young to know my old man was right

I cranked that car and swore I'd never come back
As I took a drag of a half-smoked Marlboro Light
Well, I could take the heat so I held on to that lit match
'Cause I was too young to know my old man was right

He said, 'Lessons, they ain't gotta come the hard way
But you'll be hell-bent to learn 'em on your own
It may take your whole life but I bet in due time
Son, you'll find your old man was right'

He said, 'Stand your ground, let your heart fall in love
It may break ya, but it's just part of life
And the good ones always love you just like Jesus does'
But I was too young to know my old man was right

But he said, 'Lessons, they ain't gotta come the hard way
But you'll be hell-bent to learn 'em on your own
It may take your whole life but I bet in due time
Son, you'll find your old man was right'

Now it's his turn to watch me be the old man
With my baby boy lying by my side
And every lesson that he taught me, I hope I teach him
'Cause I'm old enough to know my old man was right"

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