I live in the cemetery
´Old Caretaker´ they call me
In the wintertime I rake the leaves
And in the summer I cut the weeds
When a funeral comes

The people cry and pray
They bury their dead
Then they all go away
But through their grief
I can still see
Their hate and greed and jealousy
So here I work
And I somehow hide
From a world that rushes
By outside
But each night
When I rest my head
I´m contented
As the peaceful dead

But who´s going to cry
When old John dies?
Who´s going to cry

When old John dies?

Once I was a young man
Dashing with the girls
Now no one wants an old man
When I lost my handsome curls
But I want to say
When my time comes
Lay me facing
The rising sun
Put me in a corner
Where I buried my pup
Tell the preacher to pray
Then cover me up
Don´t lay flowers
Where my head should be
Maybe God would
Let some grow for me

And all the little children
That I love like my own
Will they be sorry
That Old John´s gone?

But who´s going to cry
When old John dies?
Who´s going to cry
When old John dies?