Now in its 41st season, “This Old House” originally aired on Boston’s Public Broadcasting System affiliate, WGBH-TV, back in 1979, featuring a then relatively unknown star named Bob Vila.
Since then, the program has expanded into a full-blown media franchise involving multiple television, print, and online resources. Along the way, it has received Emmy 82 Nominations, won 17 Emmy Awards, and produced several spin-offs (among them the award-winning “The New Yankee Workshop”, hosted by Norm Abram).
But a generation before PBS made “This Old House” a “household” term, a certain Stuart Hamblen had already introduced the phrase to popular culture. He scored big back in 1954 when he penned the words to a hit tune titled “This Ole House”.
Rosemary Clooney's recording of it would go on to reach number one on the pop music charts later that year, in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A later version by the artist known as Shakin' Stevens would again top the UK charts in 1981.
It has since been covered by numerous artists, especially in the Gospel music field. The lyrics, now in the public domain, go like this…
This old house once knew my children;
This old house once knew my wife;
This old house was home and shelter,
as we fought the storms of life.
This old house once rang with laughter;
This old house heard many shouts;
Now she trembles in the darkness,
when the lightnin' walks about.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
Ain't gonna need this house no more;
Ain't got time to fix the shingles;
Ain't got time to fix the floor.
Ain't got time to oil the hinges;
Nor to mend the window pane.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
I'm getting ready to meet the saints.
This old house is getting shaky;
This old house is getting old;
This old house lets in the rain, and
This old house lets in the cold.
On my knees I'm getting chilly,
But I feel no fear or pain.
'Cause I see an angel peeking through
A broken window pane.
(Refrain)
Now my old hound dog lies a ’sleeping;
He don't know I'm gonna leave.
Else he'd wake up by the fireplace;
And he'd sit there, howl and grieve.
But my hunting days are over;
I ain't gonna hunt the 'coon no more;
Gabriel done brought in a chariot,
When the wind blew down the door.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
Ain't gonna need this house no more;
Ain't got time to fix the shingles;
Ain't got time to fix the floor.
Ain't got time to oil the hinges;
Nor to mend the window pane.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
I'm getting ready to meet the saints.
If you’re wondering where I’m going with all of this, I’ll tell you. I’ve had both the television show and the similarly named song on my mind a lot this week. This is because yesterday, my wife and closed on the sale of our house where we have lived for the last 18.5 years.
The process of selling the house was about as painless as it could have been. Our realtor was most professional, and had our house under contract within 18 days of its listing. But the matter of transitioning from one place of residence to another was a bit more involved.
Years ago, I was blessed to grow up on a farm, where I lived in the same house at the same address from birth until I got married at age 22. My wife and I then lived in one apartment and three rental homes over the next decade. Thereafter, we lived on our first home for three years, our second home for five years, before moving into this last home, which we would occupy for nearly two decades.
In that amount of time, a place simply becomes home to you. This is especially so when you raise your three children there, seeing them through middle and high school, sports, proms, graduation, college, weddings, the birth of grandchildren, and pretty much all these things entail. (Among them, a door frame with pencil marks noting their various heights as they grew down through the years.)
As we walked through the house for the last time, our minds were naturally flooded with memories - mostly joyous, a few difficult, but all precious. These memories, good and bad, were all followed by a mixture of smiles and tears, reflecting the mixed emotions that invariably accompany such a transition in life.
As my wife and I now settle into our new life in our new place of residence, we thank God for the past and for all the memories it holds. But we also look forward to the future, fully expectant that the new house in which we now reside will soon be filled memories if its own. I trust the good will again far outweigh the bad.
Of course, Hamblen’s song is ultimately a metaphor. It is ostensibly about a physical dwelling place, but is really about a physical body we all inhabit for a short time in this life. We relate to his words so well, especially as we age, because we know that “This Ole House” will one day have to be abandoned. But praise God, when that day comes, we have the assurance though our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we have a far better body in which to dwell. We read about this new body in Pauls’ Second New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 5, verses 1-5, NLT):
1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
4While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
I look forward to my new “house”, or spiritual body, which Paul here affirms that I will one day dwell within for all eternity. I know when that day comes, I will have a body which never grows old and never break down.
Beyond this, I also know that when that day comes, the body in which I will dwell will itself reside in a house prepared for me by the Lord Himself. Jesus Himself tells me this in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 14, verses 2-3, BSB):
2“In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.”
Imagine that! When “this ole house” gives way to my new house, I will have house within a house! For I will dwell with the Lord Himself! And I will do so in both the body and the home He has prepared for me! In such a setting, there will simply be no bad memories to ever be made!
Until then, I am thankful for “this ole house” in which I now dwell. My physical body has its share of shortcomings, to be sure; but I am still quite comfortable within it. I am also thankful for the previous home the Lord provided for my wife and me to live in, and for the precious memories we will carry with us as a result.
Lastly, I am thankful for the new home which the Lord has now provided us to live. Like all the earlier places we have lived together, I hope our new home will be filled with many wonderful and happy memories.
SONG SOURCE: The song has been recorded many times by many artists. The lyrics can be found here: https://www.metrolyrics.com/this-old-house-lyrics-gaither-vocal-band.html.
SEE ALSO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Ole_House.
TELEVISION SHOW INFO: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/; and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_House.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/nlt/2_corinthians/5.htm; and https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/14.htm.
Since then, the program has expanded into a full-blown media franchise involving multiple television, print, and online resources. Along the way, it has received Emmy 82 Nominations, won 17 Emmy Awards, and produced several spin-offs (among them the award-winning “The New Yankee Workshop”, hosted by Norm Abram).
But a generation before PBS made “This Old House” a “household” term, a certain Stuart Hamblen had already introduced the phrase to popular culture. He scored big back in 1954 when he penned the words to a hit tune titled “This Ole House”.
Rosemary Clooney's recording of it would go on to reach number one on the pop music charts later that year, in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A later version by the artist known as Shakin' Stevens would again top the UK charts in 1981.
It has since been covered by numerous artists, especially in the Gospel music field. The lyrics, now in the public domain, go like this…
This old house once knew my children;
This old house once knew my wife;
This old house was home and shelter,
as we fought the storms of life.
This old house once rang with laughter;
This old house heard many shouts;
Now she trembles in the darkness,
when the lightnin' walks about.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
Ain't gonna need this house no more;
Ain't got time to fix the shingles;
Ain't got time to fix the floor.
Ain't got time to oil the hinges;
Nor to mend the window pane.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
I'm getting ready to meet the saints.
This old house is getting shaky;
This old house is getting old;
This old house lets in the rain, and
This old house lets in the cold.
On my knees I'm getting chilly,
But I feel no fear or pain.
'Cause I see an angel peeking through
A broken window pane.
(Refrain)
Now my old hound dog lies a ’sleeping;
He don't know I'm gonna leave.
Else he'd wake up by the fireplace;
And he'd sit there, howl and grieve.
But my hunting days are over;
I ain't gonna hunt the 'coon no more;
Gabriel done brought in a chariot,
When the wind blew down the door.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
Ain't gonna need this house no more;
Ain't got time to fix the shingles;
Ain't got time to fix the floor.
Ain't got time to oil the hinges;
Nor to mend the window pane.
Ain't gonna need this house no longer;
I'm getting ready to meet the saints.
If you’re wondering where I’m going with all of this, I’ll tell you. I’ve had both the television show and the similarly named song on my mind a lot this week. This is because yesterday, my wife and closed on the sale of our house where we have lived for the last 18.5 years.
The process of selling the house was about as painless as it could have been. Our realtor was most professional, and had our house under contract within 18 days of its listing. But the matter of transitioning from one place of residence to another was a bit more involved.
Years ago, I was blessed to grow up on a farm, where I lived in the same house at the same address from birth until I got married at age 22. My wife and I then lived in one apartment and three rental homes over the next decade. Thereafter, we lived on our first home for three years, our second home for five years, before moving into this last home, which we would occupy for nearly two decades.
In that amount of time, a place simply becomes home to you. This is especially so when you raise your three children there, seeing them through middle and high school, sports, proms, graduation, college, weddings, the birth of grandchildren, and pretty much all these things entail. (Among them, a door frame with pencil marks noting their various heights as they grew down through the years.)
As we walked through the house for the last time, our minds were naturally flooded with memories - mostly joyous, a few difficult, but all precious. These memories, good and bad, were all followed by a mixture of smiles and tears, reflecting the mixed emotions that invariably accompany such a transition in life.
As my wife and I now settle into our new life in our new place of residence, we thank God for the past and for all the memories it holds. But we also look forward to the future, fully expectant that the new house in which we now reside will soon be filled memories if its own. I trust the good will again far outweigh the bad.
Of course, Hamblen’s song is ultimately a metaphor. It is ostensibly about a physical dwelling place, but is really about a physical body we all inhabit for a short time in this life. We relate to his words so well, especially as we age, because we know that “This Ole House” will one day have to be abandoned. But praise God, when that day comes, we have the assurance though our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we have a far better body in which to dwell. We read about this new body in Pauls’ Second New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 5, verses 1-5, NLT):
1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
4While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
I look forward to my new “house”, or spiritual body, which Paul here affirms that I will one day dwell within for all eternity. I know when that day comes, I will have a body which never grows old and never break down.
Beyond this, I also know that when that day comes, the body in which I will dwell will itself reside in a house prepared for me by the Lord Himself. Jesus Himself tells me this in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 14, verses 2-3, BSB):
2“In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.”
Imagine that! When “this ole house” gives way to my new house, I will have house within a house! For I will dwell with the Lord Himself! And I will do so in both the body and the home He has prepared for me! In such a setting, there will simply be no bad memories to ever be made!
Until then, I am thankful for “this ole house” in which I now dwell. My physical body has its share of shortcomings, to be sure; but I am still quite comfortable within it. I am also thankful for the previous home the Lord provided for my wife and me to live in, and for the precious memories we will carry with us as a result.
Lastly, I am thankful for the new home which the Lord has now provided us to live. Like all the earlier places we have lived together, I hope our new home will be filled with many wonderful and happy memories.
SONG SOURCE: The song has been recorded many times by many artists. The lyrics can be found here: https://www.metrolyrics.com/this-old-house-lyrics-gaither-vocal-band.html.
SEE ALSO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Ole_House.
TELEVISION SHOW INFO: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/; and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_House.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES: https://biblehub.com/nlt/2_corinthians/5.htm; and https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/14.htm.