Music by elton john Lyrics by bernie taupin Available on the album jump up What happened here As the new york sunset disappeared I found an empty garden among the flagstones there Who lived here He must have been a gardener that cared a lot Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop And now it all looks strange It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain And what's it for This little empty garden by the brownstone door And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more Who lived here He must have been a gardener that cared a lot Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop And we are so amazed we're crippled and we're dazed A gardener like that one no one can replace And i've been knocking but no one answers And i've been knocking most all the day Oh and i've been calling oh hey hey johnny Can't you come out to play And through their tears Some say he farmed his best in younger years But he'd have said that roots grow stronger if only he could hear Who lived there He must have been a gardener that cared a lot Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls We hear, we hear your name Johnny can't you come out to play in your empty garden