Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: GUEST,Richelle
Date: 21 Oct 09 - 03:57 PM

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.
So don't ever laugh when a hearse goes by,
for you may be the next to die.
They wrap you up in a big white sheet
From your head down to your feet.
They put you in a big black box
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.
All goes well for about a week,
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 the jelly between your toes.
A big green worm with rolling eyes
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.
Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what you eat when you are dead.

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: GUEST,Guest, PJU
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 11:16 AM

Still haven't seen the exact version I learned...

Did you ever stop to think when a hearse goes by
that you might be the next to die?
They wrap you in a long white sheet
and bury in the ground 6 ft. deep.
All goes well for about a week,
and then your coffin begins to leak.
(I think there's a line missing that goes here)
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out,
and the worms play ping-pong across your snout.
Then your stomach turns to slimy green
and pus runs out like slow whipped cream.
Then you sop it up with moldy bread
'cause that's what you eat when you are dead!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The worms crawl in...
From: GUEST,Phil Butler
Date: 18 Nov 10 - 11:19 AM

I think thaty there are lots of versions of this song.

The one my dad taught me had

"They crawl in thin and they crawl out stout"

"Your eyes go in and your teeth fall out, and your brain comes dribbling down your snout"

Lots of variations from what I've seen.

Subject: Origins: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 19 Oct 22 - 08:07 PM

Here's a video of mixed quality about the origins of the Hearse Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkrpDizu2Sw

---

There's a very nice entry in the Traditional Ballad Index:

Worms Crawl In, The

DESCRIPTION: "Did you ever think when the hearse goes by That you might be the next to die?.... The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, The worms play pinochle on your snout...." A detailed description of how corruption attacks a body in a grave
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923
KEYWORDS: death burial humorous nonballad campsong
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,SE,So,SW)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 142, "Old Woman All Skin and Bones" (4 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 3 more, all basically "Skin and Bones (The Skin and Bones Lady)," but the "B" text seems to have picked up a "Worms Crawl In" chorus)
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, p. 444, "The Hearse Song" (2 texts, 1 tune, containing these lyrics but with particularizations regarding a military burial; the result would probably qualify as a separate song if better known)
Lomax/Lomax-AmericanBalladsAndFolkSongs, pp. 556-557, "The Hearse Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 242, "The Hearse Song" (1 text)
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 124, "Did You Ever Think" (1 text)
Fuld-BookOfWorldFamousMusic, pp. 657-658+, "The Worms Crawl In (The Hearse Song)"
Baring-Gould-AnnotatedMotherGoose #92, pp. 86-88, "(There was a lady all skin and bone)" (contains this verse)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, Gloria Dickens, "Childhood Songs from North Carolina" Vol. XXI, No. 1 (Apr 1973), p. 5, "Have you stopped to think when the hearse goes by" (1 text)
LibraryThingCampSongsThread, post 52, "(Don't ever laugh as a Hearse goes by)" (1 text, from user 2wonderY, posted August 31, 2021)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 103, 110, "The Hearse Song" (notes only)
DT, WORMSCRA
ST San444 (Partial)
Roud #15546
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogene" (lyrics)
cf. "The Hearse Song (II)" (lyrics, theme)
SAME TUNE:
The Scabs Crawl In (Greenway-AmericanFolksongsOfProtest, p. 13; on PeteSeeger30)
Rootie-Toot-Toot (Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 76)
NOTES [186 words]: The Pankakes report that this has been attributed to the Crimean War. They do not cite a source for this information.
The key line, "The worms crawl out, the worms crawl in" appears as part of "Skin and Bones (The Skin and Bones Lady)" in the revised 1810 edition of Gammer Gurton's Garland, but it may have been an editorial insertion.
A similar lyric is found in the ballad of "Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogene," but I don't know if that's a case of cross-dependence (let alone which way the dependence goes) or an independent evolution.
Charles Clay Doyle published a study of this, "'As the Hearse Goes By': The Modern Child's Memento Mori,' in Francis Edward Abernathy, ed., What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore) (1976; the Doyle essay begins on p. 175). This documents the widespread nature of the song (without giving really detailed statistics about its distribution). It also compares it with a Middle English tradition of songs about bodily decay -- a comparison I find rather a stretch.
I once saw a claim this was written by Joseph Whiteford, Gregg Manfredi, Wes Planten. I doubt it. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: San444

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Hearse Song (II), The

DESCRIPTION: "Did you ever think as the hearse roll by That the next trip they take they'll lay you by, With your boots a-swinging from the back of a roan...." The soldier will inevitably end in the hands of the grave-diggers; the soldier's body will rot in the ground
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Niles/Moore-SongsMyMotherNeverTaughtMe)
KEYWORDS: war death soldier burial
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Niles/Moore-SongsMyMotherNeverTaughtMe, pp. 188-190, "The Hearse Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15546
NOTES [29 words]: Roud lumps this with "The Worms Crawl In," with which of course it shares its initial words. But I would consider this a separate song though derived from the same original. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: NiMo188

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2022 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

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THE WORMS CRAWL IN (Digital Tradition Lyrics)

If you should see a hearse go by
You'll know that you are the next to die
They wrap you up in a big white sheet
And bury you down about six feet deep

It all goes well for about a week
And then the coffin begins to leak
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out
The mice* play pinochle on your snout

One little worm that isn't so shy
Craws in your ear and out your eye
Your eyes they turn a gushy green
Your stomach turns to whipped ice-cream

You spread it all on a piece of bread
And that's what you eat when you're dead.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

From the singing of Judy Cook, who remembers it from childhood.

Variations remembered by others:
*mice - worms Dennis Cook

filename[ WORMSCRA
DC

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 01:03 AM

I never thought of this as a military song, but Sandburg did. To me, it was a kids' camp song.

THE HEARSE SONG
Casualty records of the world war indicated in round numbers ten million dead and twenty million crippled. The Hearse Song was popular in all branches of service, though in the aviation corps it had more variants. The version (A) is from James Stevens, Irma H. Thrane and W. W. Woodbridge of Washington, while (B) is from Jake Zeitlin of Los Angeles and Fort Worth.

THE HEARSE SONG (Sandburg - A)

1. The old Grey Hearse goes rolling by,
You don’t know whether to laugh or cry;
For you know some day it’ll get you too,
And the hearse’s next load may consist of—you.

2. They’ll take you out and they’ll lower you down,
While men with shovels stand all a-round;
They’ll throw in dirt and they’ll throw in rocks,
And they won’t give a dam-m-m if they break the box.

3. The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out,
They crawl all over your chin and mouth,
They invite their friends and their friends’ friends too,
And you look like hell when they’re—through—with you.

---

THE HEARSE SONG (Sandburg - B)

Did you ever think as the hearse rolls by
That some of these days you must surely die?
They’ll take you away in a big black hack,
They’ll take you away but won’t bring you back.

The men with shovels stand all around.
They shovel you into that cold, wet ground.
They shovel in dirt and they throw in rocks.
They don’t give a dam if they break the box.

And your eyes drop out and your teeth fall in
And the worms crawl over your mouth and chin;
And the worms crawl out and the worms crawl in
And your limbs drop off of you limb by limb.

Source: Carl Sandburg's American Songbag, page 444 (Harcourt, Brace, & World, 1928)

Subject: ADD Version: The Hearse Song (from Lomax)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 01:24 AM

The Traditional Ballad Index (above) says the second Hearse Songs comes from (Niles/Moore/Wallgren-SongsMyMotherNeverTaughtMe, 1929), and that the song in Lomax & Lomas is Hearse Song (I). But Lomax and Lomax got their version from Niles/Moore/Wallgren, so go figure.

THE HEARSE SONG

Did you ever think as the hearse rolls by
That the next trip they take they’ll be layin’ you by,
With your boots a-swingin’ from the back of a roan
And the undertaker inscribin’ your stone’?

When the old motor hearse goes rollin’ by,
You don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
For the grave diggers may get you too,
Then the hearse’s next load may consist of you.

They’ll take you over to Field Thirteen,*
Where the sun is shinin’ and the grass is green,
And they’ll throw in dirt and they’ll throw in rocks,
And they don’t give a damn if they break your pine box.

Oh, the bugs crawl in and the bugs crawl out,
They do right dress and they turn about,
Then each one takes a bite or two,
Out of what the war office used to call you.

Oh, your eyes drop out and your teeth fall in,
And the worms crawl over your mouth and chin,
They invite their friends and their friends’ friends too,
And you’re chewed all to hell when they’re through with you.

*The Cemetery of the Aviation Corps


Source: American Ballads and Folk Songs, pp 556-557 (by John A. Lomas and Alan Lomax, Macmillan, 1934)

Subject: ADD Version: Hearse Song (from Fowke)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 01:41 AM

But I think of this as a children's camp song, not a military song. This version from Fowke is more like what I remember from childhood, as is the Judy Cook version from the Digital Tradition.


THE HEARSE SONG

Did you ever think when you see a hearse
That some day you'll be as bad or worse?
They'll take you away in a big black hack;
They'll take you away, but they won't bring you back.
A-woo—oo! A-woo-oo!

They'll take you out and they'll lower you down;
They'll shovel you into that cold, cold ground.
They'll throw in dirt, and they'll throw in rocks,
And they won't give a damn if they break the box

The worms crawl out and the worms crawl in;
They crawl all over your mouth and chin.
Your eyes drop out and your teeth fall in,
And your limbs drop off of you, limb by limb ...

The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out;
They crawl in thin and they crawl out stout.
They invite their friends and their friends' friends too,
And you look like hell when they're through with you


Collected from Saskatchewan Summer Camps in the 1930s.

Source: Page 109, Ring Around the Moon, by Edith Fowke (NC Press Limited, Toronto 1987)

Subject: ADD Version Hearse Song (from Silber)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 01:59 AM

THE HEARSE SONG (from Silber)

Did you ever think as a hearse rolls by,
That sooner or later you’re going to die,
With your boots a-swingin’ from the back of a roan,
And the undertaker inscribin’ your stone?

They’ll take you out and lower you down,
And men with shovels will stand around;
They’ll shovel in dirt and they’ll throw in rocks,
And they won't give a damn if they break the box.

Oh, the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
They do right dress and they turn about;
Then each one takes a bite or two
Of what Washington used to call you.

Oh, your eyes drop out, and your teeth fall in,
And the worms crawl over your mouth and chin;
They bring all their friends, and their friends’ friends, too,
And you’re chewed all to hell
When they’re through with you.

           G
  Did you ever think as a hearse rolls by,
                               D7
  That sooner or later you’re going to die,
             G
  With your boots a-swingin’ from the back of a roan,
                         D7            G
  And the undertaker inscribin’ your stone?

Source: page 242, The Folksinger's wordbook Compiled and edited by Fred & Irwin Silber (Oak Publications, 1973)

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: Senoufou
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 02:36 AM

Believe it or not, we sang something very similar to this in the Girl Guides!

Whenever you see a hearse go by
Remember that you are going to die.
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee, how happy we shall be!
They put you in a deep dark hole,
Then go away and pray for your soul.
Ha ha ha (Chorus)
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
They crawl in thin and they crawl out stout.
(Chorus)
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out.
Your brain comes trickling down your snout.
(Chorus)
(First line repeated, end of song)

Imagine today's children being encouraged to sing such a ghoulish song! But we thought it was very funny and loved it.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 02:46 AM

As a longtime camp counselor, it is my belief that children were born to sing disgusting songs, and that it is very healthy for them. Great green gobs of....


-Joe Offer, who STILL sings disgusting songs-
(banned from Vacation Bible School....and proud of it)

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 20 Oct 22 - 09:32 AM

Ach, Joe, you're just young for your age.

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 03:34 PM

Did you ever stop to think, as the hearse rolls by,
That sooner or later both you and I
Will travel along in the selfsame hack,
With never a worry about coming back.

They'll lift you out, and they'll lower you down,
The men with their shovels will stand around;
They'll throw in some dirt, and they'll throw in some rocks,
And it will fall with a thump on your old pine box.

The worms crawl out, and the worms crawl in
They'll crawl all over your mouth and chin;
They'll call in their friends, and their friends' friends', too,
And you'll look like hell when they are through with you.

Dated 4-11-1921.   Ed Magee, reporter. From The Coopers International Journal.

See google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coopers_International_Journal/IxVyPuVn3DQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq="worms+crawl+in"+"worms+crawl+out"&pg=RA1-PA217&printsec=frontcover

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 03:50 PM

Did you think as the hearse rolls by
That sooner or later you and I
will be rolling along in the self-same hack
And we won't be thinking of coming back?

The maggots and worms shall cover your skins,
And slowly they'll crawl all over our chins,
And we'll lose most of our fingers and all of our toes
And our great, brainy brains shall run out of our nose.
There, as friendly as friends, as they crowd all around,
And as far as they can they'll go down, down,
And they'll invite their friends and the friends' friends, too,
And you'll only be bones when they're done with you.

From the "Recollections of the War in Europe, From June 1917 to February 1919" by Captain Louis Julian Genella. p.510, New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. Volume LXXI, June, 1919. No. 12.

See google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Orleans_Medical_and_Surgical_Jou/qt1DAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22as+the+hearse+rolls+by%22&pg=PA510&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 04:07 PM

Did you ever think as the hearse rolls by
That it won't be long before you and I
Will be taking a ride in the black-plumed hack,
And will never remember of coming back.

May, 1915. From The Reporter, Devoted to the Granite and Marble Moumental Trade.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Reporter/chZbAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22+as+the+hearse+rolls+by%22&pg=RA4-PA10&printsec=frontcover

Subject: Lyr Add: HEARSE SONG (...worms crawl in...)
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 04:30 PM

Did you ever think as the hearse passes by
That it won't be long before you and I
Will take a ride in that large plumed hack
And never remember of coming back?

Did you ever think when grasping for gold
A dead man's hand no dollar could hold?
It's nip and tuck as we try to save -
But we lose it all when we reach the grave.

Do you ever think in our labor and strife
It's our duty to brighten each other's life?
Let each take a part, be it great or small,
For Union is strength -- divided we fall.

Don't get discouraged, boys, keep up the fight --
We're bound to win "because we are right;"
Shoulder to shoulder, be stanch and true --
You fight for me and I'll fight for you.

The Typographical Journal, Volume XXVII. November, 1905. Number Five. Pg 538. "Correspondence" from Walter O'Day.

Google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/Nm0WAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA2-PP40&dq=%22Hack%22+%22remember+of+coming+back%22.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 04:37 PM

Page 2 of June 7th, 1900 issue of Hazel Green Herald in Hazel-Green, Kentucky seems to have this poem. I don't have a subscription to Newspapers.com. See here for the OCR:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwituP3JnMP9AhVBk4kEHQ-lAq4QFnoECCEQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewspaperarchive.com%2Fhazel-green-herald-jun-07-1900-p-2%2F&usg=AOvVaw2n0VMRvBvefDR78uEt-_GY

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 07:38 PM

Do you ever think as the Black Hearse passes by
That it won't be long before you and I
Goes riding past in a Big Plumed Hack,
And never remembers of coming back.
Do you ever think as you strive for gold
That a Dead Man's Hand a dollar can't hold;
You may pinch and tuck, and try to save.
But you lose it all when you reach the ------- ?

Price ------?

From "Homeric Verse of the Mendicant". in Charities: A Weekly Review of Local and General Philanthropy. Vol. IX. November 15, 1902. No. 20. Page 493.

Note ephemeral cards would be passed out with verse on them by "Mendicants" -- aka homeless or "bums" -- as a way to raise money from people. This article includes numerous verses that were being passed out on cards ca 1900. The "Hearse Song" is listed as one of those verses.

See google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Charities/d2IsAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22+hearse+passes+by%22+%22before+you+and+i%22&pg=PA493&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 07:58 PM

An obituary:

Uniontown, Pa. -- William H. Farwell, for more than twenty-five years at the head of a successful job-printing business and a well-known and popular business man. He was noted for his generous and gentle nature, typified in the verses which he had printed on the back of his business cards, as follow:

"Did you ever think as the hearse drove by,
It wouldn't be long till you and I
Would go riding out in the big plumed hack,
And never remember of coming back?

"Did you ever think as you strove for gold,
A dead man's hand a dollar can't hold
You may pinch and tug, you may strive and save,
But you lose it all when you reach the grave."

Pg 414, The Inland Printer. Vol. XLVII. June, 1911. No. 3.

Google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inland_Printer_American_Lithographer/-AohAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22remember+of+coming+back%22&pg=PA414&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 04 Mar 23 - 08:22 PM

DO YOU EVER THINK ?

Do you ever think as the hearse drives by
That it won't be long till you and I
Will both ride out in the big, plumed hack
And we'll never, never, never ride back?

Do you ever think as you strive for gold
That a dead man's hand can't a dollar hold?
We may tug and toil and pinch and save
And we'll lose it all when we reach the grave.

Do you ever think as you closely clasp
Your bag of gold with a firmer grasp,
If the hungry hears of the world were fed,
It my bring peace to your dying bed?

Pg 11. The L.A.W. Bulletin and Good Roads. December 20, 1895. Note: L.A.W. = "League of American Wheelmen".

See google books here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Good_Roads/O91KAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Big+Plumed+Hack%22&pg=RA24-PA11&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Mar 23 - 07:02 PM

What is clear is that any children's song/chant will have many variations as kids add and subtract lines.
I heard it in Kansas about 1950, and many lines were different..including what happened 'on your snout'...it was lice for us.
Also there was an odd 'chorus' after each verse...something like "barumpf-coocoo,barumpf-coocoo,barumpf barumpf, barumpf-coocoo". Maybe that was to allow forgotten lines to surface...

My brother was 3 years younger, and his friends inflicted this on me. I don't think I ever actually 'sang' it.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: and e
Date: 06 Mar 23 - 07:13 AM

One last pre-1925 text:

...a popular song with lububrious music that many of my young friends persist in singing and humming as if haunted by it.

SOME SWEET DAY

Did you ever think as the hearse rolled by
That some day or other you must die?

In an old churchyard, in a tiny lot,
Your bones will wither and then they'll rot.

The worms'll crawl up the worms'll crawl in,
They'll crawl all over your mouth and chin.

They'll bring their friends, and their friends, too;
You'll look like hell when they're through with you.

Pg 451. Senescence: The Last half of Life by G. Stanley Hall. 1922.

Google books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Senescence_the_Last_Half_of_Life/rAQ9AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22think+as+the+hearse%22&pg=PA451&printsec=frontcover

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: The worms crawl in.../Hearse Song
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 06 Mar 23 - 05:11 PM

The earwig comes
and the earwig goes
They lay their eggs between your toes