Lyr Add: Who Mowed Lawns of Eden

Subject: Lyr Add: The Lawns of Eden
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 May 22 - 04:21 PM

http://www.stjamesoldmilverton.co.uk/old-news.html

The Lawns of Eden

(Miles Kington & the Sunshine Band, c.1975)

Who mowed the lawns of Eden, who kept the gardens trim? Adam never volunteered, I’m sure it wasn’t him
Who pruned all the fruit trees to which Genesis refers?
Did the Angel Gabriel have some secateurs?

Satan in his serpent skin was busy tempting Eve,
He had lots of nasty gardening wiles hidden up his sleeve.
He scattered weeds and tares about, and greenfly that he found, But none of Satan’s weed-seeds ever fell on stony ground.
He never helped with digging, and he never used a rake,
He couldn’t if he wanted to, being dressed up like a snake!

Who mowed the lawns of Eden, who kept the garden green? Eve was not a gardener, and the cherubim weren’t keen.
The heavenly host was small then, because nobody had died, But none of them liked digging, even though they’d never tried. I bet the saints and martyrs would have loved to dig and hoe, For martyrs up in heaven act the same as down below!

Who mowed the lawns of Eden, who helped the garden grow? Who made it a paradise? I’ll tell you ‘cos I know.
God, he fixed the garden, first one that he made,
He pruned all the roses, and was handy with a spade.

On Sunday nice and early He went out to smell the dew, (There wasn’t any church then, so he’d nothing much to do.) He wandered to the potting shed, behind the tree of life,
And he got his spade and trowel out, His fork and pruning knife. He looked after Eden and He watched the lilies grow,
And Eden’s still a paradise where gardeners can go.

Who mowed the lawns of Eden? God mowed the lawns and more. Adam couldn’t help him ‘cos his rib was still quite sore.
The beasts that got created never helped in any way,
The lion lay down with the lamb, bone idle all the day.

God built all the trellises for clematis to climb,
Cut back the wisteria and trained the columbine.
He kept the kitchen garden, and he tended it with care, He had so many jobs to do, you’d always find him there.

So when I get to heaven, I’ll ask St. Peter if I can Potter about Eden, just to help out the ‘Old Man’

Subject: Add: The Lawns of Eden
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 May 22 - 06:02 AM

A Mudcatter named Brock emailed me the lyrics to his version.

THE LAWNS OF EDEN
(recorded by Instant Sunshine)

Who mowed the lawns of Eden who kept the garden trim
Adam never volunteered I’m sure it wasn’t him
Who pruned all the fruit trees to which Genesis refers
Did the angel Gabriel have some secateurs?

Satan in his serpent skin was busy tempting Eve
He had lots of nasty gardening wheezes up his sleeve
He scattered weeds and tares about and greenfly that he found
But none of Satan’s weed seeds ever fell on stony ground
He never helped with digging and he never used a rake
He couldn’t if he wanted to being dressed up like a snake

Who mowed the lawns of Eden who kept the garden green
Eve was not a gardener and the Cherubim weren’t keen
The Angels and Archangels they were pretty much the same
They refused to weed as well as magnify his name

The Seraphim they could have helped in several different ways
But they had all their time cut out singing hymns of praise
The heavenly host was small then because nobody had died
But none of them liked digging even though they’d never tried
I bet the saints and martyrs would have loved to dig and hoe
For martyrs up in heaven act the same as down below

Who mowed the lawns of Eden who helped the garden grow
Who made it a paradise I’ll tell you cos I know
God, he fixed the garden first one that he made
He pruned all the roses and was handy with a spade

On Sunday nice and early he went out to smell the dew
There wasn’t any church then so he’d nothing much to do
He wandered to the potting shed behind the tree of life
And got his spade and trowel out, his fork and pruning knife
He looked after Eden and he watched the lilies grow
And Eden’s still a paradise where gardeners can go

Who mowed the lawns of Eden - God mowed the lawns and more
Adam couldn’t help him for his rib was still quite sore
The beasts that God created never helped in any way
The lion lay down with the lamb bone idle all the day

God built all the trellises for clematis to climb
He cut back the wisteria and trained the columbine
He kept the kitchen garden and he tended it with care
He had so many jobs to do you’d always find him there
And if I get to heaven I’ll ask Peter if I can
Potter about Eden just to help out the Old Man

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Lawns of Eden
From: Brock
Date: 05 May 22 - 03:53 PM

I first heard Instant Sunshine at St Thomas' hospital in the early 80s and since then have seen them at various concerts they have done to support various charitable causes. I can't resist buying CDs at gigs I like and this eventually led me to try and learn some of their hilarious songs. They have a website: instantsunshine.co.uk where I believe CDs can be bought and a few of their songs can be found on YouTube.
This song is usually known as 'Who Mowed Lawns of Eden'.
If you like Flanders & Swan you'll love Instant Sunshine

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Who Mowed Lawns of Eden
From: GUEST,JeffB
Date: 05 May 22 - 04:11 PM

I believe it was written by Peter Christie, a (now retired) paediatrician who trained at St Thomas's. Excellent well-crafted songs.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Who Mowed Lawns of Eden
From: Brock
Date: 12 May 22 - 03:16 PM

Absolutely right. Peter Christie writes all the songs for Instant Sunshine. I have been in email contact with him; he is very helpful if you are stuck on a lyric or chord.