Old Folks

Everyone knows him as Old Folks
Like the seasons, he'll come and he'll go
Just as free as a bird and as good as his word
That's why everybody loves him so
Always leavin' his spoon in the coffee
Puts his napkin up under his chin
And that yellow call pipe, it's so mellow, it's ripe
But you needn't be ashamed of him

In the evening after supper
What stories he would tell
How he held the speech at Gettysburg for Lincoln that day
Oh, I know that one so well

Don't quite understand about Old Folks
Did he fight for the blue or the grey?
For he's so diplomatic and so Democratic
We always let him have his way

We always know where to find Old Folks
When there's some little chore he can do
At the old livery stable, whenever he's able
Pitchin' the shoes with Lord knows who
Then he meets the late train at the station
Sits and whittles when it's overdue
While they're sortin' the mail, every night without fail
He's sneakin' a little nip or two

Every Friday, he'll go fishin'
Way down on Buzzard's Lake
But he only hooks a perch or two, a whale got away
So then we warm up the steak

Oh, someday, there'll be no more Old Folks
What a lonely old town this will be
Children's voices at play will be stilled for a day
The day that they take Old Folks away