A Funeral Party lyrics
by Exhumed
(In which a shocking discovery is made in West Port, Edinburgh, the repellant nature and lurid details of which stun and shock the city to its very core)
“...a most extraordinary circ*mstance that took place on Friday night, the 31s t October 1828, in a House in the West Port, Edinburgh, where an old Woman of the name of Campbell is supposed to have been Murdered, and her Body Sold to a Medical Doctor.” - Edinburgh Broadsheet 3r d of November, 1828
“Up the close and doun the stair
But and been with Burke and Hare
Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief
Knox the boy that buys the beef” - 19t h century Edinburgh skipping rhyme
Hare: Follow me to my humble lodging
What's mine is yours, such as it may be
Dr. Knox: Enjoy the hospitality, soon you'll be cold dead anatomy
Hare: Along the narrow, crooked wynd
Then through the close, this house you'll find
Dr. Knox: So many honored guests to fete, always an empty bed to let
Chorus: A funeral party
Hare: Drink up, the hour is growing late
Chorus: A funeral party
Dr. Knox: The fete will end when you meet your fate
Hare: Here you may rest from your journeys
And warm your bones with a dram of whiskey
Dr. Knox: Drink to what's left of your health, soon you'll be another corpse to sell
Hare: Intoxicated, the room starts to spin
And at that moment our night work begins
Dr. Knox: Quietly asphyxiate, you see your end, but far too late
Chorus: A funeral party
Burke: Drink up, the hour is growing late
Chorus: A funeral party
Dr. Knox: S tuff the carcass in a crate
Narrator: All revels must come to their end
So for the constable the tenants send
False friends meet most unpleasant ends
The corpus delicti now made evident
Solo – Matthew Harvey
Solo – Michael Burke
Solo – Matthew Harvey
Chorus: A funeral party
Burke: Step inside and have a quaff
Chorus: A funeral party
Hare: Where guests soon shuffle off
Chorus: A funeral party
Narrator: Protests of innocence rebuffed
Chorus: A funeral party
Narrator: The life of the party - snuffed