AN ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN
(Sharpe/Jordan)
As recorded by Nana Mouskouri on "Songs of the British Isles" (1976)

How many gentle flowers grow
In an English country garden?
I'll tell you now of some I know
And those I'll miss I hope you'll pardon.
Daffodils, heartsease and phlox
Meadowsweet and lily stocks
Gentian, lupin and tall hollyhocks
Roses, foxgloves, snowdrops, forget-me-nots
In an English country garden.

How many insects find their home
In an English country garden?
I'll tell you now of some I know
And those I miss I hope you'll pardon
Dragonflies, moths and bees
Spiders falling from the trees
Butterflies sway in the mild gentle breeze
There are hedgehogs that roam
And little gnomes
In an English country garden.

How many songbirds make their nests
In an English country garden?
I'll tell you now of some I know
And those I miss I hope you'll pardon.
Bobolink, coo cooing doves
Robins and the whirlwind(?) thrush
Bluebird, lark, pigeon, nightingale
We all smile in the spring
When the birds all start to sing
In an English country garden.


The bobolink is an accidental visitor to England; only about 25 sightings of this bird which breeds in North America and winters in South America. Other versions of the song include quail, cardinal, etc., which are American birds. The J. Rogers version may have been responsible for these birds appearing in the song. The Mouskouri lyrics otherwise list English birds.

Transcribers of this song seem not to know some of the commonly grown flowers, and mis-spellings such as flox or flocks, instead of phlox, are common on the internet. Ladies smocks, mentioned in some versions, are also known as cuckoo flowers or bitter cress (Cardamine).

Few folksong singers seem to have added the song to their repertoire, probably because of its association with Grainger and the more classical type of program.

Does anyone have the lyrics as collected by Sharp?