The creaking silence of age echoes through the streets Sounds like old wooden floors under heavy feet All of the children once running around have evacuated Or maybe they just disappeared Where have all the children gone?
Just yesterday they were tying ribbons in trees And swinging from the branches They were leaping over coals and swooning at anything Where have all the children gone?
Those of us who remain wander around like abandoned children in shopping malls Where have all the children gone? Maybe this is just a dream Maybe we are sleeping in rooms filled with metal shelves If we put our ears to those shelves, they will tell us stories of how they were emptied Emptied by the fingers of fathers, emptied into the flesh of their sons and daughters Where have all the children gone?
We hope they're hiding We hope they're playing a game But we know this is really happening Where have all the children gone?