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 And 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 d**h But who's gonna cry When old John dies? Who's gonna 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 wanna say When my time comes Lay me facin' 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? Who's gonna cry When Old John dies? Who's gonna cry When Old John dies?