Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)

"Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" is a song by American rock group Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released in April 1996 as the lead single from their second album, Fairweather Johnson. In the United States, it peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number six on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The song also reached number one in Canada, becoming the band's third and final single to do so.

"Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)"
Single by Hootie & the Blowfish
from the album Fairweather Johnson
B-side	"Before the Heartache Rolls In"
Released	April 2, 1996 (1996-04-02)
Length	4:27
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Mark Bryan Dean Felber Darius Rucker Jim "Soni" Sonefeld
Producer(s)	Don Gehman
Hootie & the Blowfish singles chronology
"Drowning" (1995) "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (1996) "Tucker's Town" (1996)

Background

The song first appeared in an earlier version on the band's 1993 self-released EP, Kootchypop. The EP's liner notes explain the origin of the song:

I was walking on Santee Street in Columbia leaving Monterrey Jack's and an older man came up to me. He asked for some change and me being in a bad mood (not me) I gave him some smart ass "BUM" remark. I went for a block on my way to the Elbow Room and I felt like the biggest pompous asshole. So I woke up the next morning and wrote this fictitious conversation about his life because you never know what has happened to these unfortunate people.

Music video

The music video was directed by Dan Winters and filmed in Columbia, South Carolina.^[1] The scenes of the mill ruins were filmed in Rockingham, North Carolina, at the Great Falls Mill Ruins and the waterfall behind the ruins.^[2]

Track listings

US 7-inch vinyl and cassette single^[3][4]

A. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (album version) – 4:26

B. "Before the Heartache Rolls In" – 4:26

US CD single^[5]

1. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (album version) – 4:26
2. "Before the Heartache Rolls In" – 4:26
3. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (video)

UK CD single^[6]

1. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (LP version) – 4:26
2. "Before the Heartache Rolls In" – 4:23
3. "Only Wanna Be with You" (live) – 6:07
4. "Time" – 5:27

European and Australian CD single^[7]

1. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (LP version) – 4:26
2. "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" (radio edit) – 3:59
3. "Before the Heartache Rolls In" (LP version) – 4:26

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 60 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[10] 2 European Hit Radio Top 40 (Music & Media)[11] 12 Germany (GfK)[12] 75 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[13] 8 Italy (Music & Media)[14] 18 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 41 Scandinavia Airplay (Music & Media)[16] 8 Scotland (OCC)[17] 53 Spain (Music & Media)[18] 7 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 57 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 13 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 18 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[23] 4 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[24] 33 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[25] 6 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[26] 5

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" Chart (1996) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[27] 13 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[28] 21 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[29] 90 US Billboard Hot 100[30] 74 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[31] 27 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[32] 54 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[33] 37 US Triple-A (Billboard)[34] 11 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for "Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)" Chart (1990–1999) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[35] 21

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	April 2, 1996	Top 40 album rock modern rock triple-A radio	Atlantic	[36]
United Kingdom	April 22, 1996	CD cassette		[37]