Old fools complain that everything they love
Has now been declared bad for health
And worse the authorities always change their minds
Old fools write songs about the gillyflower

Old fools complain the price of everything there is
Including the latest innovations
Nobody used to need anything that costs so outrageously much
Old fools write songs about the gillyflower

The gillyflower tender leaf smells sweetly of clove
The gillyflower doesn’t grow around here
The gillyflower pictures in the crumbling book of the past
The gillyflower hardly a soul remembers

Old fools complain the young people’s neglect
Of everything eternal and true
And how all deny the wisdom of great experience
Old fools write songs about the gillyflower