Album: ManassasAvg rating:
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Length: 2:42
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I can get to
Where I'm safe
From the city blues
And its green
And its quiet
Only trouble was
I had to buy it
And I'll do anything I got to do
Cut my hair and shine my shoes
And keep on singin' the blues
If I can stay here in Johnny's garden
As the swift bird
Flies over the grasses
Dipping now and then
To take his breakfast
Thus I come and go
And I travel
And I can watch that bird
And unravel
And I'll do anything I got to do
Cut my hair and shine my shoes
And keep on singin' the blues
If I can stay here in Johnny's garden
With his love
And his carin'
He puts his life
Into beauty sharin'
And his children
Are his flowers
There to give us peace
In quiet hours
And I'll do anything I got to do
Cut my hair and shine my shoes
And keep on singin' the blues
If I can stay here in Johnny's garden
"So begins the task" Beautiful and heartbreaking.
Written I believe, about his great, lost love Judy Collins.
from dversepoets.com:
When I was a teenager, one of my personal anthems was ‘Johnny’s Garden’ from Stephen Stills’ double album Manassas, released in April 1972. Running through the album was the leitmotif of Stills’ unrequited love for Judy Collins. Johnny’s Garden was a real place where Stills could be ‘safe from the city blues’, where ‘it’s green and it’s quiet’ at Brookfield House in Elstead, Surrey, England, owned first by Spencer Tracy, then Peter Sellers, and later Ringo Starr. Stills bought the 350 year old Tudor mansion in 1970 and, as he said, ‘had the most wonderful bursts of creativity there’.
The one constant that withstood the changes in ownership was the gardener, Johnny, who looked after the estate. He was apparently a herbalist who made incredible teas. Stills said he had soul.
It’s also been said that Peter Sellers based the character of Chauncey (the gardener in the Hal Ashby film Being There) on Johnny.
this was a wonderful read, thank you so much for sharing it.
i'm ashamed i had never heard this song before as i absolutely love Stills. i guess i need to dive deeper into his music. i'm sure there are many more gems i haven't known of. this is a beautiful song.
from dversepoets.com:
When I was a teenager, one of my personal anthems was ‘Johnny’s Garden’ from Stephen Stills’ double album Manassas, released in April 1972. Running through the album was the leitmotif of Stills’ unrequited love for Judy Collins. Johnny’s Garden was a real place where Stills could be ‘safe from the city blues’, where ‘it’s green and it’s quiet’ at Brookfield House in Elstead, Surrey, England, owned first by Spencer Tracy, then Peter Sellers, and later Ringo Starr. Stills bought the 350 year old Tudor mansion in 1970 and, as he said, ‘had the most wonderful bursts of creativity there’.
The one constant that withstood the changes in ownership was the gardener, Johnny, who looked after the estate. He was apparently a herbalist who made incredible teas. Stills said he had soul.
It’s also been said that Peter Sellers based the character of Chauncey (the gardener in the Hal Ashby film Being There) on Johnny.
On_The_Beach to the rescue, thank you
from dversepoets.com:
When I was a teenager, one of my personal anthems was ‘Johnny’s Garden’ from Stephen Stills’ double album Manassas, released in April 1972. Running through the album was the leitmotif of Stills’ unrequited love for Judy Collins. Johnny’s Garden was a real place where Stills could be ‘safe from the city blues’, where ‘it’s green and it’s quiet’ at Brookfield House in Elstead, Surrey, England, owned first by Spencer Tracy, then Peter Sellers, and later Ringo Starr. Stills bought the 350 year old Tudor mansion in 1970 and, as he said, ‘had the most wonderful bursts of creativity there’.
The one constant that withstood the changes in ownership was the gardener, Johnny, who looked after the estate. He was apparently a herbalist who made incredible teas. Stills said he had soul.
It’s also been said that Peter Sellers based the character of Chauncey (the gardener in the Hal Ashby film Being There) on Johnny.
If this doesn't bump it up a notch, nothing can. Thanks OTB.
'So begins the task' is simply beautiful and haunting.
When I was a teenager, one of my personal anthems was ‘Johnny’s Garden’ from Stephen Stills’ double album Manassas, released in April 1972. Running through the album was the leitmotif of Stills’ unrequited love for Judy Collins. Johnny’s Garden was a real place where Stills could be ‘safe from the city blues’, where ‘it’s green and it’s quiet’ at Brookfield House in Elstead, Surrey, England, owned first by Spencer Tracy, then Peter Sellers, and later Ringo Starr. Stills bought the 350 year old Tudor mansion in 1970 and, as he said, ‘had the most wonderful bursts of creativity there’.
The one constant that withstood the changes in ownership was the gardener, Johnny, who looked after the estate. He was apparently a herbalist who made incredible teas. Stills said he had soul.
It’s also been said that Peter Sellers based the character of Chauncey (the gardener in the Hal Ashby film Being There) on Johnny.
kingart wrote:
I was intro'd to RP when, one day some years ago, I was tooling around the Web in flight from the non-subscription / commercially interrupted version of Live 365 and the internet equivalent of "free radio's" roboplay. By coincidence, the first track I heard on RP was The Sound of Silence. Followed by Beethoven's Moonlight piano sonata. Hmmm. Juxtaposition. Sound of Silence > a sublime work from an exalted composer who went deaf. Me like thoughtful programming.
Now, this. First, Supergrass doing a rendition of such Lennon-esque elements that one may have to confirm that it is not, in fact, Mr. Lennon. Followed by Johnny's Garden. Coincidence ?
I often wondered that too. Turns out the garden is real, part of the Brookfield House estate in Elstead, Surrey. Spencer Tracey owned it at one time and sold it to Peter Sellars, who sold it to Ringo Starr, who sold it to Stephen Stills. And the garden had a single gardener from Sellars' time through Stills':Johnny the Gardener. He's the inspiration for this song as well as Sellars' portrayal of Chance the Gardener (AKA Chauncey Gardiner) in Being There.
Nevetheless this song (written around 1972, released in 1974) which predates John Lennon's passing (1980) by 8 years does evoke feelings of connection with him.
I was the only person in my wide circle of music friends in college who had this album, and a number of them were unaware of it.
I was intro'd to RP when, one day some years ago, I was tooling around the Web in flight from the non-subscription / commercially interrupted version of Live 365 and the internet equivalent of "free radio's" roboplay. By coincidence, the first track I heard on RP was The Sound of Silence. Followed by Beethoven's Moonlight piano sonata. Hmmm. Juxtaposition. Sound of Silence > a sublime work from an exalted composer who went deaf. Me like thoughtful programming.
Now, this. First, Supergrass doing a rendition of such Lennon-esque elements that one may have to confirm that it is not, in fact, Mr. Lennon. Followed by Johnny's Garden. Coincidence ?
Haha! No...just to Johnny Crow.
cut my hair or shine my shoes"
He's ready for extreme measures!
Imagine me, working for a man like you.................
cut my hair or shine my shoes"
He's ready for extreme measures!
He sounds desparate
Gotta love Steve. '9'
cut my hair or shine my shoes"
He's ready for extreme measures!
Totally agree.
odd...
from dversepoets.com:
When I was a teenager, one of my personal anthems was ‘Johnny’s Garden’ from Stephen Stills’ double album Manassas, released in April 1972. Running through the album was the leitmotif of Stills’ unrequited love for Judy Collins. Johnny’s Garden was a real place where Stills could be ‘safe from the city blues’, where ‘it’s green and it’s quiet’ at Brookfield House in Elstead, Surrey, England, owned first by Spencer Tracy, then Peter Sellers, and later Ringo Starr. Stills bought the 350 year old Tudor mansion in 1970 and, as he said, ‘had the most wonderful bursts of creativity there’.
The one constant that withstood the changes in ownership was the gardener, Johnny, who looked after the estate. He was apparently a herbalist who made incredible teas. Stills said he had soul.
It’s also been said that Peter Sellers based the character of Chauncey (the gardener in the Hal Ashby film Being There) on Johnny.
The film was based on the book by Jerzy Kozinski. Chance the Gardner appears in the book. I have to admit that this is one of the rare cases where the movie was better than the book. Mainly due to the casting