Interesting (if perhaps tangential) part.
Same dialog, “How would you describe the house?” “Oh, it’s fine.” A Brit might be saying there it’s quite nice. An American is probably using the word fine to say it’s sufficient. For us, things are “fine” means there aren’t a preponderance of overwhelming problems. Which is why “very very very fine” sounds… well, non-American 
I think we may be reading too much into this one instance of the word “fine”. British usage of “nice” vs. “fine” sounds exactly like how you are describing American usage. I would be more likely to say “that’s a nice house”.
In answer to “how would you describe the house?”, “oh, it’s fine” would mean “it’s good, acceptable” in Britain too. If you said “oh, it’s fine”, that would suggest that it was a particularly impressive residence.
T.S. Eliot? Tugger? Is that you???
Very fine house - large formal house, with a wall, a gate, and lions flanking the gate. Life was hard, but now we are successful and have the outlandish accoutrements…or at least it feels that way with your love.
Since this 6 year old thread got revived, I’ll say that I heard Graham Nash on Fresh Air talk about this song. He and Joni Mitchell had been out shopping that day, and she bought the very vase she was putting flowers in. Basically he went and wrote down what they had done when they came home. I don’t think cats were mentioned, but two cats in the yard are not out of the question.
He did like the house, by the way.
Hippies like Joni and Graham? Pull the other one; it’s got bells on.
The line is indeed “two cats in the yard”; Joni Mitchell owned two cats at the time, as per Mark Bego’s biography of Joni Mitchell, published in 2005.
“Father wears his Sunday best
Cats in the yard just make a mess
So we lock them up downstairs…”
I was very young when I first became aware of this song so didn’t know from C SN&Y, or that cats in England usually live outside or that Brits call the yard a garden. To my wee mind, the cats were a symbol of happiness and serenity and even though they’re specifically stated to be in the yard, I always picture(d) them sitting in the window sill. Such a pretty song . . . (such a cozy room!)
The house was in Laurel Canyon, not in the UK.
I never actually picture(d) the house in a particular country. I was just remarking on the OPs question. It makes sense that Mr. Nash would say the cats are in the yard because he’s a Brit, but in my mind the cats are on the window sill.
Yeah–I think he was painting a picture. At that moment, he looked out & saw two cats.
Full time outdoor cats aren’t a good idea in the hills. Coyotes!
You people are driving me crazy.
CSN&Y Our House has two cats in the yard.
And then there’s Madness’ Our House which was in the middle of the street.
Yard rhymes with hard. That’s the only reason the cats are in the yard.
I opened this thread to share an observation, only to discover I’d already shared it in 2009.
Anyhoo, about nine feet from where I’m sitting right now is my cat, and about a foot behind him is a small door that he can use to head out to the back yard as he pleases. If I lived in a house with a significant front yard and had another cat, I’d be okay with those two cats in that yard.
I wouldn’t. Between traffic, other animals, and various assholes that like to abuse animals, a yard, or anywhere outside, isn’t really a safe place for a furball to be lazing about. Maybe you live somewhere you’re sure they’re okay, like a farm or something, if so great, not trying to be a jerk, just saying, in general, cats survive a lot longer as indoor pets.