What the song is about
The singer spends a sunny day working in the yard and on a little farm. He mows the long grass, paints the fences, digs holes, plants a tree, pulls weeds and picks an apple. In autumn he rakes the fallen leaves. The message of the chorus: gardening is hard work, but it is fun. A short spoken dialogue in the middle shows two people sharing the jobs.
Useful words
- yard: the area of grass around a house (British English often says garden)
- lawn: an area of short grass
- mower: the machine that cuts grass; to mow / cut the grass
- seed: a plant grows from it; to plant a seed
- weed: a plant you don't want; to pull the weeds
- soil, dirt, earth, ground: words for what plants grow in
- hose: a long tube for water; to water the flowers
- rake: a tool for collecting leaves
- branch: an arm of a tree
- fence: a wooden or metal wall around a yard
Useful expressions
- There is a lot of work to do.: there is much work
- I have to...: it is necessary (I have to use the big machine.)
- hard to beat: very, very good (Working outside is hard to beat!)
- row by row: one line of plants after another
- Put the tools away.: put them back where they belong
- Time for a cold drink.: now it is time to have one
- See you later!: a friendly goodbye
- Yee-haw!: a happy cowboy shout, typical of country songs
Grammar
- Present simple for actions and facts: I push the mower. The grass is long.
- Present continuous for what is happening now: We are working on our little farm.
- -ing words as the subject: Gardening is fun. Working outside is hard to beat.
- Imperatives for instructions: Plant a little seed, watch the flowers grow.
- Let's + verb for a suggestion: Let's paint the wooden fences red.
- will for a quick decision or offer: I will cut it today. I will help you with that.
- Can you...? for a polite request: Can you water the flowers?
- When + present simple for something that happens every year: When autumn comes, the leaves fall down.
Careful: song language
- The nicest garden you have met: we meet people, not gardens. Say the nicest garden you have ever seen. The song uses met to rhyme with wet.
- I pull the weed: normally we say I pull the weeds (plural), as in the spoken part. The singular is there for the rhythm and the rhyme with needs.
- Put your hat upon your head and a smile upon my face: upon is old-fashioned and poetic. In everyday English say Put your hat on and with a big smile on my face.
