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Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow;
All it takes is a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow;
Someone warm them from below, till the rains come tumblin' down.
Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones, man is made of dreams and bones;
Feel the need to grow my own, 'cause the time is close at hand.
Grain for grain, sun and rain, find my way in nature's chain;
Tune my body and my brain, to the music from the land.
Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow;
All it takes is a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow;
Someone warm them from below, till the rains come tumblin' down.
Plant your rows straight and long, temper them with prayer and song;
Mother Earth will make you strong, if you give her love and care.
An old crow watching hungrily, from his perch in yonder tree;
In my garden I'm as free, as that feathered thief up there.
Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow;
All it takes is a rake and a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow;
Someone warm them from below, till the rains come tumblin' down.
The YouTube video above features a live 1992 performance of a variant by Liam Clancy at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.
A variant was recorded by Harry Hibbs (Pure Gold, trk#11, 1980, Tapestry Records and Tapes, Toronto, ON).
