The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #77193 Message #1377262
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
12-Jan-05 - 02:36 AM
Thread Name: Folklore: Kissing Walking Corpses
Subject: RE: Folklore: Kissing Walking Corpses
But of course they do. Here's one:
So he ordered the grave to be opened wide, And the shroud he turned down, And there he kissed her clay-cold lips, Till the tears came trickling down.
Lord Lovel. Child 75H; from a London broadside of 1846.
He then dies of sorrow and we get the usual "rose and briar" finale. Mind you, the following extra verse appeared in the same year:
Then he flung hisself down by the side of the corpse, With a shivering gulp and a guggle, Gave two hops, three kicks, heaved a sigh, blew his nose, Sung a song and then died in the struggle - uggle - uggle Sung a song and then died in the struggle.