drywall sander used for wood walls?

[TimBrowm]

I have a 20x30 room and the walls are 30-year-old barn-board style unfinished rough t&g fir or pine.  30 years has darkened the wood to a point where we suffer from a lack of light.  Could the drywall sander set-up be used to lightly sand the boards to somewhat return to the original color of the wood? (seems logical, yes, big job, but these boards will not take paint because of the unsanded surface.