We had an apartment in the city   Me and Loretta liked living there   It'd been years since the kids had grown   A life of their own, left us alone      John and Linda live in Omaha   And Joe is somewhere on the road   We lost Davy in the Korean war   And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore      Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger   And old rivers grow wilder every day   Old people just grow lonesome   Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"      Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more   She sits and stares through the back door screen   And all the news just repeats itself   Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen      Someday I'll go and call up Rudy   We worked together at the factory   But what could I say if asks, "What's new?"   Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do      Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger   And old rivers grow wilder every day   Old people just grow lonesome   Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"      So if you're walking down the street sometime   And spot some hollow ancient eyes   Please don't just pass 'em by and stare   As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"