I'm sorry you couldn't make it

You could have seen him

So weathered and dated

He was a Johnny Come Lately

And I know that you would hate it

If you'd seen his botanical leanings

First prize exhibit and all down to good spirit

He was a Johnny Come Lately

And I know that you would hate me

If I'd envied the things that he spoke of

How I envied the things that he thought of

He was a Johnny Come Lately

And I know that you would hate me

If I told you that I made some time

To stay behind the final line and make the garden grow

Where the sun no longer shines

If I asked too many questions

And stayed behind the final line and made the garden grow

But he never ever gave away the secret of his godforsaken soil

He didn't need us

Just tempted and teased us

You could have been here

Wishing you were here

This was a Johnny Come Lately

And I know that you would hate me

He was a Johnny Come Lately

And I know that you would hate me

If I told you that I made some time

To stay behind the final line and make the garden grow

Where the sun no longer shines

He assured the seeds you sold were sound

But I must have cast them all on stony ground

And now the sun won't shine

I must have asked too many questions

And stayed behind the final line and made the garden grow

But he never ever gave away the secret of his godforsaken soil