My friend and companion went out to go walking
He didn’t wear his shoes, he didn’t carry his cane
He passed through the gate on the day the plums blossomed
He said: Don’t you wait up
I’ll be back as the rain

The tobacco smoke’s clear
And the wine glass is broken
The ashes are cold
Where there once was a flame
Outside in the green hills
A wild bird is calling
Singin': Don’t you wait up
I’ll be back as the rain

So dust off the keys of the upright piano
Slap tambourines while the saxophone blows
The blossoms don’t mourn in the ices of winter
We don’t mourn for a man who lived life as he chose
There’s a new glass in the roof
And the light comes in streaming

You can lie in the bed and see star shot domains
In the dreams of his wife
He is there fair and handsome
And his children are singin’
He’ll be back as the rain

Fog is the breath of the mountains at morning
We’re passengers all on a runaway train
The soldier, the tailor, the prisoner, the jailor
We’re all standing in line
To come back as the rain

So dust off the keys of the upright piano
Slap tambourines while the saxophone blows
The blossoms don’t mourn in the ices of winter
We don’t mourn for a man who lived life as he chose
My friend and companion

Went out to go walking
He didn’t wear his shoes
He didn’t carry his cane
He passed through the gate
On the day the plums blossomed

He said: Don’t you wait up
I’ll be back as the rain
He said: Don’t you wait up
I’ll be back as the rain