Well loved for the home that was in it And the crooked fuchsia'd walls But with the sow killed for a belly full How could this a home we call? With heavy hearts bundled in wool Was it worth fightin' for? When it come from the sheep that graze the land That belongs to some distant lord Until the boney bailiff The shrew-eyed boney bailiff The silk-pursed boney bailiff Came a-knockin' at the door At the time the geese were flyin' Honk over the hoary frost Till road and church and cable knit All were double-crossed And neighbor gathered with neighbor 'round rubble a house no more With the money spent they raised the rent Said "you'll always have the poor" Until the boney bailiff The hackneyed boney bailiff The horsy boney bailiff Came a-knockin' at the door Well met at the well of loneliness Where the dark trees used to grow Before our time but within the time Of the stories that we all know Well fortified with whiskey And a barrel for one last wake Tonight we'll drink to dear darlin' death Which never made a mistake And wait for the boney bailiff The knock-kneed boney bailiff The dumbfounded boney bailiff To come a-knockin' at the door Did not wait for the benediction Nor wait for the battering ram We took what iron was in it To reflect the iron in man Sharpened for one last harvest Then it's off to a distant shore Forgive me father for I have sinned Now I'll go and sin no more But curse the boney bailiff The cantankerous boney bailiff The cadaverous boney bailiff Who came a-knockin' at the door But curse the boney bailiff The pleadin' boney bailiff The beggin' boney bailiff Who came a-knockin' at the door