Dm Dm

[Verse 1]
       Dm
I was walking through the snow
       Dm
When I saw a distant glow
     C                 Bb               Dm    F  Dm
Of a farmhouse nestled down beneath the trees
       Dm
With a guitar on my back
       Dm
I thought it sure can't hurt to ask
           C                    Bb                    Dm   F  Dm
If I could stay the night And sing a pretty song for free

[Chorus 1]
C
I walked up to the house
           Bb                  F
And then I knocked hard on the door
C
That old dark piece of wood
                  Bb           F
She fell right in there on the floor
                      Dm                Am      C
And as she did a fire burst out on all sides
C                                     F
I wondered what the hell was going on inside

[Verse 2]
       Dm
Then the music that I heard
       Dm
It was bizarre, it was absurd
         C           Bb            Dm    F  Dm
Like no banjo fiddle bass I'd ever seen
       Dm
I stepped into a room of flames
  Dm
Shook my head and looked again
     C                    Bb                Dm   F  Dm
It was the kind of company to make you scream

[Chorus 2]
C
It was a devil's hootenanny
    Bb            F
An old-time fire band
  C
A drunken whiskey choir singing
   Bb               F
Round me you understand
                                Dm                 Am     C
And then they said, "We've been searching near and far
C                                     F
For a thing like you to sing and play guitar

[Verse 3]
       Dm
Well I opened up my case
       Dm
And all the blood rushed to my face
     C            Bb                   Dm    F  Dm
I sang a fragile note, picked a minor tune
       Dm
Well those devils yelled and clapped
       Dm
And all their asses they did slap
           C                    Bb               Dm    F  Dm
Before too long we were arm and arm beneath the moon

[Chorus 2]
C
'cause that old house burnt on down
           Bb                  F
There were cinders on the ground
C                               Bb
I snuggled up inside, closed my eyes
                   F
I was sleeping sound
                      Dm                   Am      C
And I dreamt of summer nights down by the sea
C                                     F
With a devil's banjo playing on my knee