There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn

The trees are bending over
And the cows are lying down
The autumn's taking over
You can hear the buckshot hounds

The watchman said to Reba the Loon
"Was that pale at Manzanita?
Or was it Blind Bob the coon?"

Pin it on a drifter
They sleep beneath the bridge
One plays the violin
And sleeps inside a fridge

It was a murder in the red barn
Murder in the red barn

Someone's crying in the woods
Someone's burying all his clothes
Now Slam the Crank from Wheezer
Slept outside last night and froze
Roadkill has its seasons, just like anything
There's possums in the autumn
And there's farm cats in the spring
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn

Now thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house
Or covet thy neighbor's wife
But for some, murder is the only door
Through which they enter life

Now they surrounded the house
They smoked him out, took him off in chains
The sky turned black and bruised
And we had months of heavy rains

Now the ravens nest in the rotted roof
Of Chenoweth's old place
And no one's asking Cal
About that scar upon his face

'Cause there's nothin' strange
About an axe with bloodstains in the barn
There's always some killin'
You got to do around the farm

A murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
The woods will never tell
What sleeps beneath the trees
Or what's buried 'neath a rock
Or hiding in the leaves

'Cause roadkill has its seasons
Just like anything
It's possums in the autumn
And it's farm cats in the spring

A murder in the red barn
Murder in the red barn

Now a lady can't do nothin'
Without folks' tongues waggin'
Is that blood on the tree?
Or is it autumn's red blaze?

When the ground is soft for diggin'
And the rain will bring all this gloom
And there's nothing wrong with a lady
Drinking alone in a room

But there was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn