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