Last week’s selection from Randy Newman’s classic 1972 album Sail Away was the charming and sweet ‘Memo to My Son,’ a song about how wonderful and exasperating it is to have a child.

This week’s track, nestled just a few spots away on the same album, takes a decidedly more cynical look at a father-son relationship at the other end of life. ‘Old Man’ is told from the perspective of a son at his father’s death bed. But this isn’t a heartfelt goodbye. This is the son’s opportunity to throw a lifetime of uncaring neglect back in the old guy’s face.

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