KENO, THE RENT MAN

[Spoken:
Boy, I'm sore today.
What in the heck you sore about?
Oh, Keno, the rent man, he's as mean as he can be]

Keno, that rent man
Mean as he can be
Well, thrown my bed out in the street
Then he threw ol' me
Keno, mean as he can be

He throwed my trunk out in the yard
He kicked off the end of my nose
Well, he hit me in the head with a washboard
And tore out the back of my clothes
Keno, mean as he can be

I went to run and he tripped me
Stamped on the back of my head
Well he held me down in the mud hole
'til I thought that I was dead
Keno, mean as he can be

Makes no difference if you're a white man
As white as crystal snow
If you don't pay that rent man
He'll throw you out the door
Keno, mean as he can be

If you are a renter,
Take heed to what I say
If you see that rent man comin'
Better make your getaway
Keno, mean as he can be

Source: transcription of Cofer Brothers [Paul and Leon] 'Keno, The Rent Man' recorded 13 March 1929 in Atlanta Georgia and issued as OK 45485 ca October 1930. Reissued on Various Artists 'Hard Times Come Again No More Vol 2' Yazoo CD 2037.

--Stewie.