Lyrics
Timothy took his time to school,
Timothy took his time traveling to school, possibly implying he moved slowly or enjoyed the journey.
Plenty of time he took.
He took a considerable amount of time for his journey.
But some he lost in the tadpole pool
He lost some time, possibly got distracted or spent time in the tadpole pool.
And some in the stickle back brook.
He also lost time in the stickle back brook, indicating further distractions or delays.
Ever so much in the linnets nest,
Additionally, he spent time in the linnets nest.
And more on the five-barred gate.
Moreover, he spent more time on the five-barred gate.
Timothy too his time to school,
Reiteration of Timothy taking his time to school.
But he lost it all and was late.
Despite taking his time, he lost all of it and ended up being late for school.
Timothy has a lot to do -
Timothy has a significant amount of tasks to accomplish.
How shall it all be done ?
He wonders how he will manage to complete all these tasks.
Why, he never got home till close on two,
He didn't return home until close to 2, although he could have been back by 1.
Though he might have been back by one.
Implies he had the opportunity to return home earlier but didn't.
There's sums, and writings, and spelling, too,
He has various academic tasks like arithmetic, writing, and spelling, in addition to other activities like climbing an apple tree.
And an apple tree to climb.
Reiteration of Timothy having numerous tasks.
Timothy has a lot to do -
He wonders how he will manage to find time for everything.
How shall he find the time ?
Timothy searched extensively for lost time.
Timothy sought it high and low!
He looked everywhere.
He looked in the tadpole pool
He even checked the tadpole pool again.
To see if they'd taken the time to grow
To see if the time he lost had somehow grown in the pool.
That he lost on the way to school.
He found the nest, tree, and gate he had encountered before.
He found the nest an he found the tree,
However, he realizes he will never recover the lost time.
And he found the gate he'd crossed,
He found the landmarks but not the lost time.
But Timothy never shall find (ah me!)
Expresses the sorrow of Timothy never being able to retrieve the lost time.
The time that Timothy lost.
Reiterates the impossibility of Timothy finding the lost time, expressing regret.
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