When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to fix
The front door where it always sticks,
And oil the hinges where they squeak
And put new shingles on the leak
That trickled down and ruined all
The paper on the spare-room wall.
He’s goin’ to take a piece of lead
And mend the drain-pipe, so he said,
By solderin’ up that pesky chink
Down underneath the kitchen sink;
And nail the loose boards on the floors
And patch up all the fly-screen doors.
When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to clean
The wood-shed like you’ve never seen,
And hang the hoes and rakes on racks,
And shake out all the gunny-sacks,
And all the empty cans and truck
And old gum-boots he’s goin’ to chuck,
And leave a place big enough
For all the mops and brooms and stuff.
And oh the wood he’s goin’ to chop!
When Jim gets to it there’ll be a crop
Of kindlin’ that will see you through
At least a dozen years or two.
When Jim gets to it he’s goin’ to take
And fix his teeth so they won’t ache,
Especially some molars there
That’s just got wrecked through wear and tear—
Their nerves had ought to first be killed
And ’bout a dozen others filled.
He’s goin’ to have some X-ray man
Examine him if he can
Find why he’s been so plagued of late
Along his spinal vertebrate.
He’s goin’ to take and drown I guess
’Bout ninety kittens more or less,
That make a point of hangin’ round
The kitchen door and gettin’ wound
Up in your feet so that you squash
A kitten with each step, by Gosh!
There’s lots of things that Jim declares
Each day will want some new repairs;
The barnyard gate is far from straight
And saggin’ pretty low of late;
The buck-saws will need filin’ soon
The new piano’s out of tune,
The wagon-reach is split and may
Capsize a cargo any day.
It seems like quite a lot to do,
But I suppose he’ll see it through
When nothin’ else is crowdin’ him
Nor pressin’ on his mind, and Jim
Is feelin’ fairly fit and prime—
But when it comes to that there time
I guess it’s not too much to say
That Jim will have one busy day.