I was walking through the snow   When I saw a distant glow   Of a farmhouse nestled down beneath the trees   With a guitar on my back   I thought it sure can't hurt to ask   If I could stay the night   And sing a pretty song for free      I walked up to the house   And then I knocked hard on the door   That old dark piece of wood   She fell right in there on the floor   And as she did a fire burst out on all sides   I wondered what the hell was going on inside      Then the music that I heard   It was bizarre, it was absurd   Like no banjo fiddle bass I'd ever seen   I stepped into a room of flames   Shook my head and looked again   It was the kind of company to make you scream      It was a devil's hootenanny    An old-time fire band   A drunken whiskey choir singing    Round me you understand   And then they said, "We've been searching near and far   For a thing like you to sing and play guitar"      Well I opened up my case    And all the blood rushed to my face   I sang a fragile note, picked a minor tune   Well those devils yelled and clapped    And all their asses they did slap   Before too long we were arm and arm beneath the moon      Cuz that old house burnt on down   There were cinders on the ground   I snuggled up inside, closed my eyes   I was sleeping sound   And I dreamt of summer nights down by the sea   With a devil's banjo playing on my knee