# "Did you ever see a hearse go by . . ." **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 1999, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951 "1999-11-14T03:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/1 "1999-11-14T03:36:00Z")
Inspired by the “There’s a place in France” thread, I now have to ask if anyone knows the full lyrics to this wholesome children’s favorite, and what its origins might be? I know it starts off with, Did you ever see a hearse go by And wonder if you’re the next to die? and then continues somewhere along the line with, The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out They chew your guts and spit them out Sounds kind of Goth, if you ask me, and this was back in the early 80s. DHR ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/2 "1999-11-14T03:41:00Z")
Another thing, while I’m thinking about it–I know the melody was the same as the theme song of old Oliver and Hardy shorts (musical notation to follow): dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH-doo-doo, dooo-dee-DOOH. So another question is, did the original tune for Oliver and Hardy really carry such gruesome lyrics? DHR ---
**Author:** ![Jackamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Jackamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackamus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/3 "1999-11-14T03:43:00Z")
1950s version: Did you ever think when a hearse went by That you might be the next to die. They wrap you in a big white sheet And bury you under 6 feet deep. It all goes well for a week or two And then the casket begins to leak. The worms crawl in The worms crawl out They all play pinochle on your snout. The pus pours in The pus pours out . . . . and here I am without a spoon! Yech! I can’t believe we sang that! (And I can’t believe I remember the words.) Who knows where it came from? I thought my friends made it up. Gagging, Jac ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/4 "1999-11-14T03:58:00Z")
The version we did in Newfoundland in the 80s was similar, except the Pinochle line was (IIRC) ‘In your nose and out your mouth’ and the last line was ‘…MMMMMM, and me without my spoon!’ * * * ‘They couldn’t hit an Elephant from this dist…!’ Last words of General John Sedgwick ---
**Author:** ![RoboDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@RoboDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoboDude)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/5 "1999-11-14T04:06:00Z")
Here’s the version I heard: Don’t you ever laugh as a hearse goes by For you may be the next to die They cover youy up in a big white sheet From your head down to your feet They put you in a great big box And bury you up under dirt and rocks And things go fine for about a week And then your coffin begins to leak The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out In your stomach and out your snout They eat your eyes, they eat your nose They eat the jam between your toes Your stomach turns a lovely green And pus comes out like whipping cream You spread it on a slice of bread And that’s what you eat when you are dead ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/6 "1999-11-14T04:07:00Z")
The version I heard went: …the worms crawl in the worms crawl out the worms play pinochle on your snout 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. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/7 "1999-11-14T04:53:00Z")
For versions of this and many other children’s rhymes, try _Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood_ by Josepha Sherman and T. K. F. Weisskopf. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/8 "1999-11-14T15:50:00Z")
The theme used by Laurel and Hardy was _Ku Ku_ composed by T. Marvin Hatley, the musical director for Hal Roach Studios. You can get more details at [http://www.wayoutwest.org/pratfall/prat\_marvin.html](http://www.wayoutwest.org/pratfall/prat_marvin.html) . ---
**Author:** ![jane\_says](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jane\_says](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jane_says)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/9 "1999-11-14T16:17:00Z")
My mom taught my sister and me a version of this little ditty when we were young. However, I’m sure it was around long before the 80’s since she learned it as a child and was born in 1950. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/10 "1999-11-14T21:50:00Z")
I always thought the tune was “Funeral March of a Marionette,” AKA the theme to “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 1999, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/11 "1999-11-15T00:02:00Z")
Saltire, that’s the tune I sang it too away back then.It is way more macabre that way. Some did sing it to KUKU. Since I knew the song before we had a TV it made the opening to the show all the more chilling. I am a cubscout master and I know you will all be glad to hear that all those ‘Gruesome ditties’ are alive and doing well. Great Big Gobs of Green Greasy Gopher Guts, My Body Flies Over the Ocean, I’m Mowing over My Dead Dog Rover,I’m Looking Over last Night’s dinner that I threw up on the floor, Upchuck Gotta Upchuck ( to the tune of the Armour hotdog song) and so on ad nauseum. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 1999, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/12 "1999-11-15T03:13:00Z")
The _KuKu_ theme is similar to Charles Gounod’s _Funeral March for a Marionette_ but they are recognizably distinct if you hear them together. Using the Doghouse Reilly method of musical notation, here’s KuKu: dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH-doo-doo, doo-dee-DOOH Here’s the Funeral March: daaaaaa DUM da da da da DUM-da-DUM DUM da da da da DUM-da-DUM Any professional musicians reading this may know pause to wipe the soda from their keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 1999, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/13 "1999-11-15T03:13:00Z")
The _KuKu_ theme is similar to Charles Gounod’s _Funeral March for a Marionette_ but they are recognizably distinct if you hear them together. Using the Doghouse Reilly method of musical notation, here’s KuKu: dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH, dooo DOOH dee DOOH-doo-doo, doo-dee-DOOH Here’s the Funeral March: daaaaaa DUM da da da da DUM-da-DUM DUM da da da da DUM-da-DUM Any professional musicians reading this may now pause to wipe the soda from their keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 1999, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/14 "1999-11-15T03:15:00Z")
So much for the theory that you can pause your post for a last second spelling correction. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 1999, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/15 "1999-11-15T05:12:00Z")
If you have a Macintosh and speech capability, try the test for the voice Pipe Organ. (Go into the Speech control panel and select Pipe Organ and click on the speaker icon. It says: > [@](#): > > Never laugh when a hearse goes by > For you may be the next to die > they wrap you up in a bloody sheet > they lower you down about fifty feet > the worms crawl to the Alfred Hitchcock tune. At least it used to! Now that I check it, it sings: > [@](#): > > We must rejoice in this morbid voice Hmm… the old version said the poem. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 1999, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/16 "1999-11-24T21:02:00Z")
The lyrics I heard were taught to my brother and sister and me by our father–the only member of our family no longer living. _Did you ever think when the hearse rolls by That sooner or later both you and I Will take a trip in the same old hack With never a worry of coming back? They pick you up, they lay you down And men with shovels stand all around They throw in dirt, they throw in rocks It sounds like hell on the old pine box! The worms crawl in… He’ll call his friends and his friends’ friends too You’ll look like hell when the worms get through!_ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 1999, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/17 "1999-11-25T16:07:00Z")
Hey Doghouse: I’ve long suspected that yer full o’ “doo-dee-doo-dee-doo” ; and this topic proves it. If this post ain’t Mundane & Pointless, then I’m a Dutchman. * * * Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul? ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 1999, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/18 "1999-11-27T01:22:00Z")
My uncles (now in their early 60s) say they learned this tender song in the boy scouts, it was a classic. Also called Zyrex (sp?)a pre-cool aid dring, bug juice. ---
**Author:** ![neverhide0821](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@neverhide0821](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neverhide0821)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/19 "2010-06-12T17:38:23Z")
have you ever seen a hearses go by and think that you were the next to die they rap you up in a big white sheet and send you down six feet deep all goes well for about a week and then your kasket springs a leak the worms go in the worms go out they play penouckle apound your snout they steel the jelly from between your tows and carry the buggers right out of your noise ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951/20 "2010-06-12T17:46:42Z")
What kind of songs do 11 year old zombies sing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-see-a-hearse-go-by/4951.md?page=2)