Released: November 7, 1972

Songwriter: John Prine

Producer: Joel Dorn

We had an apartment in the city
Me and my husband liked living there
It's been years since the kids have grown
A life of their own, left us alone

John and Linda live in Omaha
Joe is somewhere on the road
We lost Davy in the Korean war
I still don't know what for, don't matter any more

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
But old people, they just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say
"Hello in there. Hello"

Me and my husband, we don't talk much anymore
He sits and stares through the backdoor screen
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream
That we've both seen

Someday I'll go and call up Judy
We worked together at the factory
Ah, but what would I say when she asks what's new?
Say, "Nothing, what's with you?
Nothing much to do."

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Ah, but, but old people, they just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say
"Hello in There. Hello."

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And you should spot some hollow ancient eyes
Don't you pass them by and stare
As if you didn't care
Say, "Hello in there. Hello

Bette Midler

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.