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 death      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?