The old man at the window over the way
Isn't there anymore; the room is empty now.
My gaze automatically wanders over there.
How long has it been now since I last saw him?
Two stone gray, apathetic-looking figures
Carried him out of the house this morning.
The caretaker got straight on with his job,
And someone cleared out the old man's furniture.
The man at the window, oh...
The man at the window, oh...
The two of us were like the closest of confidants:
He who looked out onto the street from his armchair,
I who sat at my writing desk, chewing on a pencil;
When one of us arrived, the other was already there.
And when nighttime set itself down upon the rooftops,
All that remained was a light in a window here and there;
He who sleeplessly shuffled around in his living room,
And I who simply wrote until the break of dawn!
The man at the window, oh...
The man at the window, oh...
There's a dented delivery van in front of the house;
Two young people have parked it there,
And are hauling furniture and cardboard boxes up the stairs!
They stay up half the night painting and decorating.
Music is drifting in through my open window;
The two of them smiled at me a little while ago.
And slowly, it is beginning to dawn on me
That for them, I'm going to be the man at the window from now on!
The man at the window, oh...
The man at the window, oh...
The man at the window, oh...
The man at the window, oh...