Does Anyone Know a Song with the Line, “The Ship Sailed for the White Cliffs of Dover”?
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Does Anyone Know a Song with the Line, “The Ship Sailed for the White Cliffs of Dover”?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009Dan wrote,
I went to school in Chilton (England) when I was six (1972), in California now, and my class sang this song, but that is the only line I can recall, I even recall the melody…
“And when the journey was all over /
The ship sailed for the /
White Cliffs of Dover.”Anybody? Was it maybe a song about a ship with two cats and the crew were all mice, and when they got home all that was left were two fat cats?
Dan
If anyone can help Dan, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Lisa
The Hearse Song Animation for Halloween
Saturday, October 18th, 2008I’ve talked in the past about how all the kids in my neighborhood loved The Hearse Song when I was growing up. (We called the song The Worms Crawl In the Worms Crawl Out.) Evidently, we weren’t the only ones who loved this song. I’ve gotten many people writing in about the different versions of The Hearse Song they sang as kids.
Here’s an animation of a vampire singing the song from YouTube, for you to enjoy for Halloween. It’s followed by the lyrics to read along with while watching…
The Hearse Song
Didn’t you ever think, as a hearse goes by,
That you may be the next to die?They wrap you up in a big white sheet,
And bury you down in the 6 feet deep.They put you in a big black box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.And all goes well for about a week,
And then the 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 the jelly between your toes.A great big worm with rolling eyes,
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And puss pours out like whipping cream.You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that’s what the worms eat, when you are dead.Have a spooky Halloween!
Mama Lisa
“There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone” Song with MP3
Sunday, October 29th, 2006I’ve been discussing the origin of the phrase “The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out”.
Yesterday, I posted the old nursery rhyme “There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone”, which contains the phrase.
Here’s another version of There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone, this one a song, (sung by me!). In this case the phrase is “The grubs crawled in, the grubs crawled out”. How and when it changed is a bit of a mystery.
MP3 of There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone
There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone
There was a woman all skin and bone
Oo-oo-oo!
Who lived in a cottage all on her own,
Oo-oo-oo!She thought she’d go to church one day
Oo-oo-oo!
To hear the parson preach and pray,
Oo-oo-oo!When she got to the wooden stile
Oo-oo-oo!
She thought she’d stay and rest a while
Oo-oo-oo!When she reached the old church door
Oo-oo-oo!
A ghastly ghost lay on the floor,
Oo-oo-oo!The grubs crawled in, the grubs crawled out,
Oo-oo-oo!
Of its ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Oo-oo-oo!Oh you ghastly ghost, she said,
Oo-oo-oo!
Shall I be like you when I am dead ?
YES!If anyone out there sings it differently, and would like to send other lyrics or a different rendition, I’d be happy to post it.
Happy Halloween Everybody!
Lisa
Old Nursery Rhyme with “The worms crawled out, the worms crawled in”
Saturday, October 28th, 2006Since it’s the Halloween time of year, and I know that a lot of people out there are interested in the line, “The worms crawled in, the worms crawled out”, I’m going to talk a little more about the earliest sightings of this line in print.
In my last blog entry, I mentioned that a similar line was seen in print in 1796, in a ballad called Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogine, in a novel called The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis.
There was also a nursery rhyme, which can be found in Gammer Gurton’s Garland’s 1810 edition, that has a similar line. It’s hard to tell if the nursery rhyme came before The Monk, and that Lewis took the line from a rhyme he already knew, or vice versa.
Here’s the nursery rhyme…
There Was a Lady All Skin and Bone
There was a lady all skin and bone,
Sure such a lady was never known:
It happened upon a certain day,
This lady went to church to pray.When she came to the church stile,
There she did rest a little while;
When she came to the church yard,
There the bells so loud she heard.When she came to the church door,
She stopped to rest a little more;
When she came to the church within,
The parson prayed ‘gainst pride and sin.On looking up, on looking down,
She saw a dead man on the ground;
And from his nose unto his chin,
The worms crawled out, the worms crawled in.*Then she unto the parson said,
Shall I be so when I am dead?
O yes! O yes! the parson said,
You will be so when you are dead.*The Annotated Mother Goose quotes Gammer Gurton’s Garland, “This line has been adopted in the modern ballad of Alonzo and Fair Imogene.” Which implies that the nursery rhyme came first. Yet, from what I can tell, The Monk has the earliest use of the line in print.
If anyone knows of any earlier sightings of this line, please let us know in the comments below.
***
Here you’ll find other versions of The Hearse Song or The Worms Crawled In, The Worms Crawled Out. Feel free to add the version you know in the comments.Next: The Old Women All Skin and Bones Song
The Origin of The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out
Thursday, October 26th, 2006Last year I posted a version of The Hearse Song that I sang as a kid. Many other people also remember this song. If you’re interested, you can read all the versions of The Worms Crawl in, The Worms Crawl Out that people sent me over the past year.
Meanwhile, I found one of the earliest places the line, “The worms, they crept in, and the worms, they crept out” was seen in print. It was in a ballad called Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogine. The ballad is from a gothic romance novel published in 1796. The novel is called The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. (At the time it was published, The Monk was banned for its explicit nature.)
The ballad of Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogine tells the story of a young maiden who vows to love a warrior who’s going into battle. Even if he should die, she promises never to love another. To find out what happens when he does indeed die, read below! Here’s the ballad…
ALONZO THE BRAVE, AND FAIR IMOGINE
A Warrior so bold, and a Virgin so bright
Conversed, as They sat on the green:
They gazed on each other with tender delight;
Alonzo the Brave was the name of the Knight,
The Maid’s was the Fair Imogine.‘And Oh!’ said the Youth, ’since to-morrow I go
To fight in a far distant land,
Your tears for my absence soon leaving to flow,
Some Other will court you, and you will bestow
On a wealthier Suitor your hand.’‘Oh! hush these suspicions,’ Fair Imogine said,
‘Offensive to Love and to me!
For if ye be living, or if ye be dead,
I swear by the Virgin, that none in your stead
Shall Husband of Imogine be.‘If e’er I by lust or by wealth led aside
Forget my Alonzo the Brave,
God grant, that to punish my falsehood and pride
Your Ghost at the Marriage may sit by my side,
May tax me with perjury, claim me as Bride,
And bear me away to the Grave!’To Palestine hastened the Hero so bold;
His Love, She lamented him sore:
But scarce had a twelve-month elapsed, when behold,
A Baron all covered with jewels and gold
Arrived at Fair Imogine’s door.His treasure, his presents, his spacious domain
Soon made her untrue to her vows:
He dazzled her eyes; He bewildered her brain;
He caught her affections so light and so vain,
And carried her home as his Spouse.And now had the Marriage been blest by the Priest;
The revelry now was begun:
The Tables, they groaned with the weight of the Feast;
Nor yet had the laughter and merriment ceased,
When the Bell of the Castle told,–’One!’Then first with amazement Fair Imogine found
That a Stranger was placed by her side: His air was terrific;
He uttered no sound; He spoke not, He moved not,
He looked not around,
But earnestly gazed on the Bride.His vizor was closed, and gigantic his height;
His armour was sable to view:
All pleasure and laughter were hushed at his sight;
The Dogs as They eyed him drew back in affright,
The Lights in the chamber burned blue!His presence all bosoms appeared to dismay;
The Guests sat in silence and fear.
At length spoke the Bride, while She trembled;
‘I pray, Sir Knight, that your Helmet aside you would lay,
And deign to partake of our chear.’The Lady is silent: The Stranger complies.
His vizor lie slowly unclosed:
Oh! God! what a sight met Fair Imogine’s eyes!
What words can express her dismay and surprize,
When a Skeleton’s head was exposed.All present then uttered a terrified shout;
All turned with disgust from the scene.
The worms, They crept in, and the worms, They crept out,
And sported his eyes and his temples about,
While the Spectre addressed Imogine.‘Behold me, Thou false one! Behold me!’ He cried;
‘Remember Alonzo the Brave!
God grants, that to punish thy falsehood and pride
My Ghost at thy marriage should sit by thy side,
Should tax thee with perjury, claim thee as Bride
And bear thee away to the Grave!’Thus saying, his arms round the Lady He wound,
While loudly She shrieked in dismay;
Then sank with his prey through the wide-yawning ground:
Nor ever again was Fair Imogine found,
Or the Spectre who bore her away.Not long lived the Baron; and none since that time
To inhabit the Castle presume:
For Chronicles tell, that by order sublime
There Imogine suffers the pain of her crime,
And mourns her deplorable doom.At midnight four times in each year does her Spright
When Mortals in slumber are bound,
Arrayed in her bridal apparel of white,
Appear in the Hall with the Skeleton-Knight,
And shriek, as He whirls her around.While They drink out of skulls newly torn from the grave,
Dancing round them the Spectres are seen:
Their liquor is blood, and this horrible Stave
They howl.–’To the health of Alonzo the Brave,
And his Consort, the False Imogine!’The whole novel The Monk is available online at Project Gutenberg.
If you’re looking for different versions of The Worms Crawled In check out the links at the top of the page above. Once you’re at those links, look for the Comments. That’s where people submit other versions.
-Lisa
NEXT: I’ll post an old nursery rhyme called There Was a Lady All Skin and Bone that was printed in 1810. It also contains the line “The worms crawl’d out, the worms crawl’d in.”
“Wassail Carol” also known as “Gloucestershire Wassail” with an MP3 Recording
Thursday, December 22nd, 2005The Wassail carol seems to originate in Gloucestershire, England and it’s been around at least since the 17th or 18th century. “Wassail!” is a toast, literally meaning “be in good health”. The reply to this is traditionally “Drink-hail!”
Wassailers are carolers who go from door to door carrying a wassail-bowl and singing carols. The wassail-bowl is typically filled with wassail, a spiced ale. The bowl is usually silver and is decorated with ribbons and garlands. The wassailers expect the good people in the house to keep their wassail-bowls full!
Here are the lyrics to Wassail and an mp3 recording of Wassail by David W. Solomons…
Wassail
Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With a wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.So here is to Cherry* and to his right cheek
Pray God send our master a good piece of beef
And a good piece of beef that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.Here is to Dobbin*, and to his right eye,
God send our master a good Christmas pie;
A good Christmas pie that may we all see,
With a wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.So here is to Broad May** and to her broad horn
May God send our master a good crop of corn
And a good crop of corn that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.And here is to Fillpail** and to her left ear
Pray God send our master a happy New Year
And a happy New Year as e’er he did see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.Here is to Colly**, and to her long tail,
Pray God send our master he never may fail
A bowl of strong beer: I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear.Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best
Then we hope that your soul in heaven may rest
But if you do draw us a bowl of the small
Then down shall go butler, bowl and all.Then here’s to the maid in the lily white smock
Who tripped to the door and slipped back the lock
Who tripped to the door and pulled back the pin
For to let these jolly wassailers in.Wassail wassail!
*Cherry and Dobbin are horses
**May, Fillpail and Colly are cowsMany thanks to David W. Solomons for his recording of Wassail. David is a one man choral singer who has been playing instruments and singing for over 30 years. Here’s a link to more of David Solomons’ Christmas music or visit his home page.
Arrangement by Alan Cruise-Johnston.
All Souls Day – Begging for Soul-cakes and A Souling Song
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005Today is All Souls’ Day.
In parts of England it used to be customary, on this day, for children to go from door to door begging for pastries called soul-cakes. Sometimes they were given fruit or coins instead. Just like Halloween and The Day of the Dead, symbolically these were treats put out for the dead to appease their souls when they came back to earth for a day. But it seems it’s also a promise from the person receiving the soul-cakes to pray for the dead relatives of the giver of the soul-cakes to help their relatives’ souls go from purgatory to heaven.
Here’s a song kids would sing for All Souls Day when they were begging for treats…
A Souling Song
A soul, a soul, for a soul cake!
Please, good missus, a soul cake!
An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry
Any good thing to make us all merry
One for Peter, two for Paul
Three for Him who made us all.Here’s a link to more lyrics and sheet music for A Souling Song
Here’s a midi of the Souling Song
I’ve read that some children still go out begging on All Souls Day. Nowadays, they go out in disguise. It’s similar to trick-or-treating on Halloween.
I welcome comments from anyone from England about how common it is to go out soul-caking in the 21st century. Please comment below to let me know!
And meanwhile, Happy All Souls Day!
- Lisa
________
Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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