The Gardeners

Written by: 
Bill Lyons
1 Oct 1968

Don't go in the flower garden late at night,
Because something there is killing all the gardeners.
Mistletoe and rosemary and the garlic butt
Won't protect you like they did from the gardeners.
Run to your homes, save all your wine,
There's a gardener coming...

And there is something hanging in the willow tree;
Take a look and see if it's the gardener.
Carry something silver in your bleeding hand;
Whistle and you wish away the gardener.
And run to your homes and save all your wine,
There's a gardener coming...

And there is something hiding behind the greenhouse door;
Take a look and see if it's the gardener.
Moonlight never looked so strange to me before;
Could those misty shadows be the gardener's?
And run to your homes and fly up the stairs,
There's a gardener coming...


sitenotes:
This song is credited to John but singer and publicist Ewan McVicar claimed in 2001 that John got the song from him and some American wrote it:

"I first knew John in Glasgow when he was still Ian McGeachy - he had to change it to get gigs in London. At that time he always had to play his songs in the same order, as he could not figure out what actual tuning he was in at any time but the start, only how to get from one song to the next. Incidentally, the early song The Gardeners is not his. It was written by Bill Lyons of Boston Mass, I sang it, John got it from me, and the record company would never correct the label!"

So in fact the song was written by Bill Lyons.

First release: