Poor old granddad
I laughed at all his words
I thought he was a bitter man
He spoke of woman's ways

They'll trap you, then they use you
Before you even know
For love is blind and you're far too kind
Don't ever let it show

[Chorus]
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger.
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger.

The can can's such a pretty show
They'll steal your heart away
But backstage, back on earth again
The dressing rooms are gray

They come on strong and it ain't too long
Before they make you feel a man
But love is blind and you soon will find
You're just a boy again

When you want her lips, you get a cheek
Makes you wonder where you are
If you want some more and she's fast asleep
Then she's twinkling with the stars.

Poor young grandson, there's nothing I can say
You'll have to learn, just like me
And that's the hardest way
Ooh la la

[Chorus]



Lyrics submitted by RooneyRocks

Track duration: 03:35

"Ooh la La" as written by Ronald David Wood, Ron Lane

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Ooh La La song meanings
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24 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:Hey ProfessorKnowItAll, the irony is that you sound a lot more bitter than grandpa.

    Think about it, he wouldn't be "grandpa" if he couldn't get laid.

    Don't put women up on a pedestal. Your average woman is just as capable of being "bad" as grandpa. Re-read the lyrics. When does grandpa ever say that he wanted to take advantage of women? There's no rational reason to assume grandpa is the bad guy. He sounds like someone who did stupid things for love & got burned. Who hasn't? Yet grandpa still loves his family.

    So we're not being misled by the catchy tune. There's a lot of joy in it. True joy acknowledges past disappointment. Fake joy denies it.
    Flag SteveOramaon November 09, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Looking at the song in a different way, he's looking back on his own life and realizing his grandfather was right all along, even if he doesn't want to admit it. If you look at it that way, it fits the tone of the song better. "At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors." (Proverbs 5:11-13)
    Flag randanmanon February 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It would be a great Graduation song!
    My class want's "Thnx fr th 'memories'" I can't even write it.
    This would be Fantastic.

    It's on a lot of commercials and it was on "Without a Paddle" and the T.V. programme "Men of a Certain Age"
    Flag ZooaRooon January 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment: I know it's about women and how they can be terrible, but to me this song should be the High School Graduation song.
    Flag bearfan34on May 14, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"They'll come on strong and it ain't too long
    For they make you feel a man
    But love is blind and you soon will find
    You're just a boy again"

    an old man passing down wisdom, warning of the pitfalls of having feelings for women. the part i quoted talks about how men think, "i'm the sh*t!" after they laid, or if they mutually fall in love with a woman, but the grandfather is warning that the grandson is going to get his heartbroken and he'll handle his heartbreak like a little boy. there's nothing he can do to avoid it, and there's no other way to learn but the hard way. it sucks, and it's true, and this song is so bittersweet as a result
    Flag themagnetcon November 10, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song. It's suits my life perfectly. Girls taking advantage of nice guys..yeah definitely a true story. But not all girls are evil just the ones I've dated lol. I think it would be awesome to do an animation to this song. (I don't think the grandpa would take advantage of the girls he dated, I think he would just not invest all his emotion in the wrong ones if he could take it back--P. knowitall)
    Flag jz_12345on October 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:lol sick can mean cool too.

    first verse is him reminiscing about thinking his grandpa was just full of crap and bitter when he was younger and the advice he gave him about not showing your emotions. the second one is about how girls just lure you in with their looks and all of the excitement and how great it makes you stupid.
    Flag jonahfaunaon October 21, 2008   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:Like a lot of people, the first time I head this song was on a commercial. Then I finally listened to the whole song. It's interesting that the bittersweet, folksy feel masks the latent misogyny inherent in the song (and some of the Faces' other work, like "Stay With Me.") I think it's clever that it manages to sugarcoat a song of an old man saying "Rah rah women suck because I can't get laid."

    It's also funny that everyone is interpreting it as a heartwarming ditty about learning life-lessons. It's about a grumpy old man complaining to his grandson that women are the devil and are only out to deceive, swindle, and frustrate men. Oh, and tease them and give them blue-balls.
    Gramps says "I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger" so that he could've taken advantage of women back then instead of letting them take advantage of him. Not quite my version of heartwarming.
    Flag ProfessorKnowItAllon April 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Ronnie Lane didn't sing it, but he wrote the song. It was the only song Ron Wood ever sang actually.

    By the way, someone needs to put more of the faces on here, they are without a doubt the most overlooked band from this era, just buy their best of cd, you won't be disappointed one bit.
    Flag joekool7787on December 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song was written by both Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood... With Ronnie Lane taking the vocals. Although sustaining an optimistic melody, Lane/Wood focus on an issue that affects all of us be it male or female...

    And in response to neogeon's statement... I think Ronnie is talking about how when we look for further sexual gratification, women have a tendency to neglect our desires thus leaving us "twinkling with the stars..."

    The man is a hero... A great loss to the music industry... R.I.P. Ronnie Lane...
    Flag New_Morningon November 06, 2007   Link

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