When The World Was Young - Scott Walker

It isn’t by chance I happen to be

A boulevardier, the toast of Paris

For over the noise, the talk and the smoke

I’m good for a laugh, a drink or a joke

I walk in a room, a party or ball

«Come sit over here» somebody will call

«A drink for M’sieur, a drink for us all»

But how many times I stop and recall

Ah, the apple trees

Blossoms in the breeze

That we walked among

Lyin' in the hay

Games we used to play

While the rounds were sung

Only yesterday, when the world was young

Wherever I go they mention my name

And that in itself, is some sort of fame

«Come by for a drink, we’re havin' a game»

Wherever I go I’m glad that I came

The talk is quite gay, the company fine

There’s laughter and lights, and glamour and wine

And beautiful girls and some of 'em mine

But often my eyes see a different shine

Ah, the apple trees

Sunlit memories

Where the hammock swung

On our backs we’d lie

Looking at the sky

'Til the stars were strung

Only last July when the world was young