Hi Jim and Ray, we will need several pairs of ears to nail this one down. Hopefully, Dale might turn up - Georgia Crackers, Chitwood and Landress are among his favourites. There is a quieter recording to listen to - click on "Furniture Man" on this page: HERE

Here are my suggestions:

Stanza 1, line 1
'I hate to tell my hard-luck tale or either talk about my home'

Stanza 1, line 2
This is the real stinker. What I hear is:
'All needs doin' in this strange land, they have troubles of their own'

It makes some sense with 'all' meaning 'everyone' and 'needs doin'' meaning 'has something that needs to be done'.

Stanza 1, line 3
Sounds to me something like:
'I thought I'd order me a lover's lap and I thought the furniture'd last fine'

'Lover's lap' was what I first heard, but now I'm not so sure. Whatever, it is probably a piece of furniture of some kind.

Chorus, line 4:
'Till your house fills back of van'

Stanza 2, line 4:
'What was once considered a paradise is now a broken home'

Stanza 3, line 4:
'I had 2 dollars a week to pay or else he'd take them back'

--Stewie.