When Grampa was an old man He fed pigeons in the park all day He was friends with the squirrels The boys and the girls And he loved to watch us play He was an old man (old man) A wise man (wise man) He told me stories on his knee He was a wise man (wise man) A kind man (kind man) And always very good to me He'd been a miner, a sailor A farmer, a tailor And a soldier in a long ago war He fought forest fires Hung telephone wires And once he owned a candy store He was an old man (old man) A wise man (wise man) He told me stories on his knee He was a wise man (wise man) A kind man (kind man) And always very good to me He could make a lasso Cook a gypsy stew And carve things out of sticks Blow rings of smoke Tell funny jokes And do plenty of magic tricks He was an old man (old man) A wise man (wise man) He told me stories on his knee He was a wise man (wise man) A kind man (kind man) And always very good to me And someday I'll be an old one A wise one Just you wait and see I'll be a wise one A kind one With a child upon my knee