Old friends Old friends Sat on their park bench Like bookends A newspaper blown through the grass Falls on the round toes Of the high shoes Of the old friends
Winter companions The old men Lost in their overcoats Waiting for the sunset The sounds of the city Sifting through the trees Settle like dust On the shoulders Of the old friends
Can you imagine us Years from today Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange To be seventy
Old friends Memory brushes the same years Silently sharing the same fear...
Time it was, and what a time it was, it was A time of innocence, A time of confidences Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph Preserve your memories; They`re all that`s left you
Два старых друга сидят на садовой скамье, Словно подпорки на полке зачитанных книг. Ветер швыряет газетный листок напрямик К их допотопным ботинкам — старьё на старье.
Скоро закат. Компаньоны на зимнем кочевье - Каждый закутан в пальто, что пора сдать в музей. Сеется шум городской сквозь кусты и деревья, Пылью садится на плечи старинных друзей.
Только представь: через годы, такой же зимой Вместе с тобой мы покойно скамейку разделим… Как же ужасен и странен десяток восьмой.
Пыль с твоих лет смахнут дружеской памяти взмахи. Молча разделит друг все твои тайные страхи.
paints a portrait of two old men reminiscing on the years of their youth. The two men "sit on a park bench like bookends", and ponder how strange it feels to be nearing their lifetime. the title generally conveys the introduction or ending of sections, and the song builds upon a "rather loose formal structure" that at first includes an acoustic guitar and soft mood. An additional element is introduced midway through the track: an orchestral arrangement conducted by Jimmie Haskell, dominated by strings and xylophone notes. Horns and other instruments are added when the duo cease singing, creating a turbulence that builds to a single high, sustained note on the strings. The song then segues into the final song of side one, the reprise of the "Bookends Theme". The song is joined with the "Bookends Theme"...