Oh Mr. Landlord, here’s my little song

You’ve been neglecting me for so damn long

The rage builds up inside and overflows

Just like a blind man trying to aim his blows

 

You tax my earthly stay so very high

Right from the cradle til’ the day I die

The water’s muddy and the light is dim

And every move I make is such a terrible sin

 

The rain varnishes the empty street

That shines so heavenly nice and neat

Down in your basement we trade in the dark

You lurk about just like a hungry shark

 

And with the whip that only fits your hand

The gospel only you can understand

Of every hour you can make a year

Of every drop of rain a goddamned well of tears

 

And you can break my arms

And you can break my legs

And you can drag my face all around the place

 

But don’t try my heart

For your own sake

Because there really ain’t nothing in there

 

Oh Mr. Landlord what a lousy deal

To live with you forever at my heels

Your daughters’ names are Squalor and Disease

They chase me down on their hands and knees

 

They keep account of my every breath

They quite literally love me to death

Their sheets are black just like a widow’s veil

Their twenty long-nailed fingers like a narrow cell

 

And you can break my arms

And you can break my legs

And you can drag my face all around the place

 

But don’t try my heart

For your own sake

Because there really ain’t nothing in there

 

Don’t wish to make it any longer now

That my time is really nearly through

But let me bang on your wall once more

Cos’ it’s the only pleasure I ever knew

 

And you can sell my arms

And you can pawn my legs

And you can kick my head all around the place

 

But don’t try my heart

For Heaven’s sake

Because there really ain’t nothing in there