Jacques Brel - Old Folks (Les Vieux) lyrics

The old folks don't talk much And they talk so slowly when they do They are rich, they are poor, their illusions are gone They share one heart for two Their homes all smell of thyme, of old photographs And an old-fashioned song Though you may live in town, you live so far away When you've lived too long And have they laughed too much, do their dry voices crack Talking of times gone by And have they cried too much, a tear or two Still always seems to cloud the eye They tremble as they watch the old silver clock When day is through It tick-tocks oh so slow, it says, "Yes," it says, "No" It says, "I'll wait for you" The old folks dream no more The books have gone to sleep, the piano's out of tune The little cat is dead and no more do they sing On a Sunday afternoon The old folks move no more, their world's become too small Their bodies feel like lead They might look out the window or else sit in a chair Or else they stay in bed And if they still go out, arm in arm, arm in arm In the morning's chill It's to have a good cry, to say their last good-bye To one who's older still And then they go home to the old silver clock When day is through It tick-tocks oh so slow, it says, "Yes," it says, "No" It says, "I'll wait for you" The old folks never die They just put down their heads and go to sleep one day They hold each other's hand like children in the dark But one will get lost anyway And the other will remain just sitting in that room Which makes no sound It doesn't matter now, the song has died away And echoes all around You'll see them when they walk through the sun-filled park Where children run and play It hurts too much to smile, it hurts too much but life goes on For still another day As they try to escape the old silver clock When day is through It tick-tocks oh so slow, it says, "Yes," it says, "No" It says, "I'll wait for you" The old, old silver clock that's hanging on the wall That waits for us All