Ceolskog - The Hammer Horror Hearse Song (The Worms Crawl In)

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Happy Halloween! Okay, Halloween is still almost two months away, but here is an early Halloween treat (for anyone who wants it). According to WIkipedia, "The Hearse Song" is a song of unknown origin, about burial and human decomposition. While there are reports of the song dating back to British soldiers in the Crimean War (1853-1856), it certainly dates to at least World War I (1914-1918), when it was sung by American and British soldiers. It was popular in the 20th century as a children's song. It has many variant titles, lyrics, and melodies, but generally features the line "the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out", and thus is also known as "The Worms Crawl In". It gained more popularity in present times by being included in "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" (1981) by Alvin Schwartz. Other popular variations include one by Harley Poe on the album "Satan, Sex and No Regrets", and YouTuber Rusty Cage covered the song for his album "Gangstalkers Vol. 4". The Pogues also recorded a short version of the song entitled "Worms", included on the album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God".

Just for amore gruesome effect, I have added an undead "Hammer Horror" movie twist to mine, including a reference to Peter Cushing, who played Van Helsing in some of the Hammer Dracula films. As you can see, I have altered the title to "The Hammer Horror Hearse Song".

This will be added to the "Once, Long Ago...." album.

Lyrics:

Don't ever laugh when a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die.
They wrap you up in a long white sheet,
From your head down to your feet.

A funeral is held for you,
Your wife doesn't cry, which seems quite rude.
The bullet hole inside your chest,
Reminds you of the mode of your death.

They put you in a wooden box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.
All goes well for about a week,
But then your coffin begins to leak.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat your fingers, they eat your toes.

A big black beetle with two red eyes,
Crawls through your stomach and out your side.
Your liver turns a slimy green,
And puss pours out like rancid cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what you eat when you're dead.

And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat your fingers, they eat your toes.
And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in.
The worms that crawl in are lean and thin.
The ones that crawl out, are fat and stout.
Your skin turns grey and your brain falls out.

It all goes well for you in death,
Until your corpse again draws breath.
You stalk the land in search of blood,
Including that of the ones you loved.

And the worms fall out, onto the street,
The worms are crushed by your skeletal feet.
You find your wife, asleep in bed,
Another man now sleeps in your stead.

....and somewhere deep inside your head,
you remember how they shot you dead....

Now they both rot and just like you,
The worms crawl around in their corpses too.
They eat their eyes, they eat their noses,
They eat their fingers, they eat their toeses.

Your undead army begins to wrawl,
Then Peter Cushing comes for you all.
He has his cross and wooden stake,
For you, I'm afraid, it's much too late.
There one thing worse than to die and rot,
And that's to come back when you should not.
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.

Don't ever laugh when a hearse goes by,
For you may be the next to die....

Ceolskog is the solo folk metal project of Adam Helliwell from Hamilton, New Zealand, and the name given to his nature-themed YouTube channel. Ceol is an Irish word meaning music, and skog means forest in Norwegian and Swedish. No, I don't have a Patreon. But if you're a regular viewer, and you want to support me in some way (as well as getting something in return), then buy my music from here, the Ceolskog Bandcamp page: http://ceolskog.bandcamp.com/

Other links:

Ceolskog on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ceolskog

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Ceolskog Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/12159763378/playlist/44i5C7RbEoD7rLQLYXHNch

Ceolskog on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ceolskog

Ceolskog on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/adamhelliwell

#TheHearseSong