Hello,

I have to admit that this one has me flummoxed. My Mum used to sing the chorus of the song, but either never knew, (or never admitted that she knew), the rest of the song. The chorus goes:

"Some of the ghosts were short,
Some of the ghosts were tall.
There they sat in a ghostly row
On the top of the churchyard wall.
They all gave a loud Ha Ha
They all gave a loud Ho Ho
I tried to bid them all goodnight
But they would not let me go!"

I guess Mum would have heard it sung at family celebrations in the years before the 1st World War.

I know a parody of the song appears in Punch in December 1898.

I know a version is sung on one of Veteran's excellent 'Songs sung in Suffolk' CDs, but does anyone know the original?

The tune give by Punch is "The Goblins in the Churchyard" but that might be artistic license as I can't find that either!

Any thoughts anyone?

Best wishes,

Peter