You see these work boots in my hands, they'll probably fit you now my sonTake them, they're a gift from me, why don't you try them onIt would do your old man good to see you walking in these boots one dayTake your place among the men who work upon the slipwayThese dead man's boots, though they're old and curledWhen a fella needs a job and a place in the worldThen it's time for a man to put down hootsAnd walk to the river in his old man's bootsHe said I'm nearly done and askin' thisChit, chit, chit, chit, chitDo one final thing for meYou're barely but a saplingAnd you think that you're a treeIf you need a seed to prosperYou must first put down some rootsJust one foot, then the otherIn these dead man's bootsThese dead man's bootsKnow their way down the hillThey could walk there themselvesAnd they probably willThere's a place for you thereTo sink your rootsOr take a walk down the riverIn these dead man's bootsI said why in the hell would I do thatAnd why would I agreeWhen his hand was all that I'd receivedAs far as I rememberIt's not as if it spoiled meWith his kindness up till then you seeI'd have planted me on itI'd have planted me on itI'd quit this placeWhen I came of age SeptemberThese dead man's bootsKnow their way down the hillThey can walk there themselvesAnd they probably willI've plenty of choicesI've plenty of the rootsAnd he'd never see me walkingIn these dead man's bootsWhat was it that made him thinkI'd be happy ending up like himWhen he'd hardly got to hipAnd he's leftOr a broken pot to piss inHe wanted the same thing for meBut that his final wishHe said what the hell are you gonna doI said anything but thisThese dead man's bootsKnow their way down the hillThey could walk there themselvesAnd they most likely willBut they won't walk with meCause I'm off the other wayI've had it up to hereI'm gonna have my sayWhen all you got left is deathThere's that cross on the wallI want nothing from youI want nothing at allIt's not a pension or a pittanceWhen your whole life is throughGet this through your headI'm nothing like youI'm done with all the argumentsThere'll be no more disputeAnd you'll die before you see meIn your dead man's boots*