[Verse 1] The mechanic walked into the timber stand With a micrometer resting in his hand He measured the curve of the cedar bough Said the branch is crooked and wasteful now He wanted an axis of iron and steel To balance the friction of every wheel [Verse 2] He took out his oil and he tightened the bolt Checked every circuit for variance or jolt He looked at the puddle where dragonflies breed And called it an error of water and reed He polished the surface until it was bright And banished the dusk from the edges of night [Chorus] You can fix the engine, you can tune the gear But you cannot make the blossom appear Efficiency runs on a frozen plumb line While life grows crooked, like a wild green vine The mechanic wants a clockwork floor The gardener is watching at the orchard door [Verse 3] The gardener digs in the rot and the loam Welcomes the earthworm to make it a home Leaves the dry bramble to shelter the quail Waits on the sunshine and weeps at the hail He knows every seed holds a riddle unsolved A mystery tangled, forever evolved [Chorus] You can fix the engine, you can tune the gear But you cannot make the blossom appear Efficiency runs on a frozen plumb line While life grows crooked, like a wild green vine The mechanic wants a clockwork floor The gardener is watching at the orchard door [Bridge] A machine is finished the day it is made Then rusts in the shadow of shovel and spade A garden begins in the compost and mess Finding its beauty where order is less We are not cylinders built for the grind! [Chorus] You can fix the engine, you can tune the gear But you cannot make the blossom appear Efficiency runs on a frozen plumb line While life grows crooked, like a wild green vine The mechanic wants a clockwork floor The gardener is watching at the orchard door [Outro] Let the wild vine climb Out of the clockwork, into the time © 2026 The Shady River Bard. All rights reserved.
