Released January 1986 Recorded 1985 Length 4:15 | Format 7" Genre Country Label RCA/Curb | |
"Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)" is a song written by Jamie O'Hara, and recorded by American country music duo The Judds. It was released in January 1986 as the second single from the album Rockin' with the Rhythm. The song became The Judds' sixth No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
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"Grandpa" — as the song is sometimes known — is a reflection on days gone by, wherein the narrator expresses discontent about the decline in traditional values, the hectic lifestyle of the day and how progress hasn't always been positive ("They call it progress/But I just don't know"). The refrain reflects on the values of yesterday, such as marriages staying intact for a lifetime, fathers maintaining their responsibilities to help raise children, families going to church, promises being kept, and how right and wrong were clearly defined.