'Old Rivers' w/Lyrics- Walter Brennan

Written by Cliff Crofford "Old Rivers" by Walter Brennan featuring the Johnny Mann singers was released in March, 1962 and climbed as high as #5 on the Billboard charts and #3 on Country and Western charts.

[FrancesRobinson-ynks]

I'm 76 -- and STILL -- every time I listen to this song, I cry. Bless you, Walter Brennan. 💖💖💖💖💖💖

[danielvayda]

Im 75 now. I played this for my son. It brings tears to my eyes but my boy thought it was corney. My brother Kevin took his own life in 1996. I see him across that field..thank you for the song walter

[dannyblack]

I am 72 years old and this song brings tears to my eyes . I miss my old Friend.

[sadeatthewhip]

The way he says "That mule, Old Rivers, and me" just about kills me every time

[ronaldpicklesimer]

People today understand this song. They would just think old Rivers was a fool. I'm just thankful for men like old Rivers

[belovedbride]

I will be 77 soon & I remember that song. It always reminds me of my grandpa.

[cynthiacarey]

I played this song for my father at his funeral years ago. It’s more a metaphor for his life than literal. He worked so hard and in so much pain his whole life. I miss him still and the tough lessons he taught me

[dianacallicott]

When I was 7, I watched my grandfather plow with his 2 hugh black mules named Blue and Bell. Makes me remember the old days in Georgia
Such hard work
I love this song, part of my childhood.

[oldrok]

Just turning 70. Reminds me of my dad and my daughter. She followed dad everywhere. They were inseparable. She worked the garden with him and loved every minute of it. I remember her planting seeds in the furrows well walking behind dad when she was just around 4 years old. The song brought a tear to my eye too. Thanks for the upload.

[agrimm]

In the days back then, hard work is all they know. Food on the table was the food from the field they toiled. Luxury was a word not spoken but was dreamt about. As I grew older, I long the days of yesterday and how we came together as family and how we stride to better ourselves. Today's technology took all that away and left us with memories of long ago. This song reminds me of that.

[AuntieMHere]

The way his voice breaks at the end of the song tugs at my heart. I named my last best good friend after Walter Brennan. I lost my Walter (a lab/Aussie mix) a few years ago, and this song makes me think of him. I grew up doing farm labor. Now one of these days, I'm gonna climb that mountain...

[joeodell]

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL POEM ONLY WALTER BRENNAN CAN MAKE IT SOUND SO GREAT

[eliothunter]

When I was a child I had a friend like Old Rivers, a stately black gentleman sharecropper who ploughed the field with a mule like "Midnight." Such a parallel! I can never forget.

[Kathy_Bennett]

The picture he paints of his family and ole Rivers, those are the people who made this country great. No matter what was going on in their life, they continued to work hard and was dedicated to their family & community.

[allanavery]

A real tear jerker. I remember hitchhiking to Detroit with my buddy in May of 1962 when this song was all over the airwaves. Standing along side the highway in Jarvis, Ontario, I had my little transistor playing that song while coincidentally, we watched a farmer plowing his field with a horse and an old dog following behind. The timing was amazing !! Love this song !!

[keithfletcher]

Love this song, I am 79 it reminds me of my teenage years.I bought the record and when I played it at the time my mates thought it was a strange song for a teenagher to like.There is something about it this that brings tears to my eyes.At the time I must admit I thought Old Rivers was the donkey.

[bugfeet]

In the early '60s my brother and I would crack walnuts on the end of the porch and hear this on WQXI 790 AM from Atlanta. Where does the time go? I love this song, it speaks of that time...

[gringo]

At 72 years old I actually do remember walking along behind a plow and busting up clods with my boots. Granddad had 360 acres west of Durant Oklahoma and I spent summers down there. He had a tractor, but kept a beautiful pair of big Missouri mules just for old times sake. I was too small to do any work, but just being there watching Granddad and the farm hands gave me a connection to farms, farmers, and farming that has lasted a lifetime.

[lobo]

What a great song. Something about the words that get me. As one gets older, it hits me in many ways.

[neilbrown]

I heard this song when I was young some 60 years ago and I remember Walter Brennan . I play this song every once in a while to remind me of the hard work that my forefathers had to have endured to put
Food on the table many years before I was born. The simplicity of the lyrics and Walter's voice move me. 🙏🙏🙏