When Death came for old Joshua
He received a resounding no
And despite of his persuasion
The old man refused to go
He'd been a Yorkshire miner
A man of admirable thrift
Who'd built his little nest egg
By working double shifts
They called Gabriel in to adjudicate
But old Joshua didn't give two hoots
He'd just spent hard earned money
On a brand new pair of boots
You can rant and rave old son he said
But I aint going anywhere
If you'd only come last week
Before I'd bought this new pair
So being both reasonable party's
A compromise was found
Which allowed old Joshua
More time above the ground
Gabriel agreed to stretch a point
Without endangering immortal soul
For Joshua to live on so long
As his new boots were whole
He must have forgotten
That long ago in the past
Old Joshua had bought
An old cobblers last
They're thrifty up in Yorkshire
And Joshua gained great fame
As the man who cheated Gabriel
In the life and death game
Old Joshua's way past ninety
And still going strong
Working at his cobblers last
All day long
Polishing and mending
And keeping his boots whole
Whilst in no way compromising
His own immortal soul
The worthy Gabriel
With the patience of his kind
Gives a tolerant snigger
If he brings Joshua to mind
And death of course
Not really losing any face
As certain victor in the end
Waits with a certain style and grace