[Verse 1]
Well, the night was deep and the night was dark
And I was at the old dancehall on the edge of town
Some big ceremony was going down
Well, dancers writhed and squirmed and then
Came apart and then writhed again
Like squirming flies on a pin
In the heat and in the din, in the heat and in the din
And I fell to thinking about brand new wife of mad John Finn

[Verse 2]
Well, a midnight came and a clock did strike
And in she came, did John Finn's wife
With legs like scissors and butcher's knives
Tattooed breasts and flaming eyes
And a crimson carnation in her teeth
Carving her way through the dance floor
And I'm standing over by the bandstand
Every eye gaping on John Finn's wife
Every eye gaping on John Finn's wife

[Verse 3]
Now, John Finn's wife was something of a mystery
In a town where to share a sworn secret was a solemn duty
I had brass knuckles and a bolo knife
Over near the bandstand with John Finn's wife
She got perfumed breasts and raven hair
Sprinkled with wedding confettis
And a gang of garrotters were all giving me stares
Armed, as they were, with machetes
Well, the night through the window was full of lights
A winking and a watching at John Finns' wife
A winking and a watching at John Finns' wife
[Verse 4]
Well, next came the cops, all out on the town
But it don't look like no trouble there
As they head for the bar in their lumpy suits
I slip my hand between the thighs of John Finn's wife
They seemed to yawn awake, her thighs
It was a warm and very ferocious night
And the moon was full of blood and light
And my eyes grew small and my eyes grew tight
And I plotted in the ear of John Finns' wife

[Verse 5]
Enter John Finn in his shrunken suit
With his quick black eyes and black cheroot
With his filed-down teeth and a hobnail boot
His fists full of pistols in his pockets
Aiming at me and aiming at his wife
The band fall silent, all fearing for their lives
With fear in my guts like tangled twine
'Cause all I got is brass knuckles and a bolo knife
And mad John Finn's wife is all
And the three of us, we walk out of the hall

[Verse 6]
Now the night bore down upon us all
You could hear the crickets in the thickets call
Guns did flare and guns did bawl
And I planted my bolo knife in the neck of mad John Finn
I took his wretched life
Now I'm over near the bandstand
Every hand moving on John Finn's wife
Every hand moving on John Finn's wife
[Outro]
And John Finn's wife took all the flowers down
From her hair and threw them on the ground
And the flies did hum and the flies did buzz around
Poor John Finn lying dead upon the ground
Lying dead upon the ground