I am an image in stone
Seikilos put me here, where I am
forever, the symbol of eternal remembrance

As long as you live, shine
afflict yourself with nothing beyond measure
Your life is of brief duration;
time claims its tribute
 
 

Hér undir jarðar hvílir moldu
Sæmundur Klemenssonar likami
Sá var fæddur seytjánhundruð
og sextíu auknum þremur
gefinn til ekta guðelskandi
Ingebjörgu Sæmundur ástkærri dóttur

Hann var numinn til himnaskara
hvar hann tilbiður sinn lausnara
þar enginn grátur mæðir meir
Krists undir merkjum kröftugt barðist
kórónu hreppti þvi hann varðist
Sæmundur Klemensson ei deyr

Here rest his bones in the earth
the body of Sæmundur Klemensson
He was born in seventeen hundred
Adding sixty three more years
Married to the Godfearing Ingebjorg
the loving daughter of her father Sæmundur

He was summoned to the heavens above
where he worships his Redeemer
and weeps no more
He fought hard under Christ's banner
rewarded with a crown for his staunch defense
Sæmundur Klemensson never dies

(When someone of importance died it was an old custom to write an epitaph which was printed or calligraphed, and hung up on the living room wall. This epitaph for Sæmundur Klemensson is the only known example of an epitaph with a melody to it)
 
 

Where are you going, my silver one
Where are you going, my fresh sprig of basil
To lose your bloom?
You are not meant to descend into the black earth
You will repent my boy, a thousand times an hour
for the decision you made to die
There where you have gone
they call it the land of no return
Where two together do not sit
and three do not talk
and no marriages are made
and no festivities held
and there are no fields where you can play with your horse

("Three widows in black, crouching at dusk by kerosene lamplight, intoned this dirge in praise of a young man. Laments like this are heard only in Epirus, Mani, and parts of Crete. Village superstition decrees that if keening occurs and there is no death, ill-luck will befall the inhabitants. The recording was made secretly with the help of the mayor [who was not superstitious; on his advice we left the village immediately afterwards.]")
 
 

Let each one stop and think
of how the hour of death draws near
Into the deep black earth he'll sink
his name will disappear

(see Gail Holst-Warhaft's  Amanes : the Legacy of the Oriental Mother for more on the genre)
 
 

What is this that I can't see
With icy hands taking hold on me?
I am death and none can excel
I'll open the door to heaven or hell.

Oh death, Oh death
Can't you spare me over til another year.
Oh death, Oh death
Please spare me over til another year.

Oh death, someone would pray,
Could you call another day?
My children pray, the preachers preach
Time of mercy is out of your reach.

I'll fix your feet so you can't walk
I'll lock your jaw so you can't talk
I'll close your eyes so you can't see
This very year come and go with me.

Death I come to take the soul
Leave the body and leave it cold
To drop the flesh off of the frame
The earth and worms both have a claim.

Mother, come to my bed
Place cold towel upon my head
My head is warm, my feet is cold
Death is a moving upon my soul.

Oh death how you're treating me
Close my eyes so I can't see
You hurt my body, you make me cold
You ruin my life out of my soul.

Oh death, consider my age
Please don't take me at this stage
My wealth is all at your command
If you will move your icy hand.

Old, the young, the rich or poor
Are all alike with me, you know.
No wealth, no land, no silver, no gold,
Nothing satisfy me but your soul.
 

You think them blues ain't here on this banjo neck, the same as they're on that guitar? They're just as much on this banjo neck as they are on that guitar or piano, or anywhere else if you know where to go and get it, and if you learn it and know how to play it. (from Christopher Milne's Biography )

(for more on Dock Boggs see  His Folkways Years 1963-1968 and  Only Remembered For What He Has Done and  Memories & Appreciations)

Chorus: Oh Death, now oh Death in the morning
Oh Death, Death spare me over for another year

He cried Oh Death (hear him singing)
O Death in the morning
O Death (please now) spare me over another year

Yeah, Death walked up to the sinner door
Said Oh now sinner you got to go
The sinner looked around an began to cry
Said Oh no Death I'm not ready to die

Oh Death walked up to the sinner's gate
Said I believe you have waited now a little too late
Your fever now is one hundred and two
You have narrow chance that you'll ever pull through

He said I got feets and I can't walk
I got a tongue mother and I can't talk
I got eyes and I can't see
Nothin' but Death has got the shackles on me

Said now gonna fix your feet where you can't walk
Fix your tongue so you cannot talk
Close your eyes an' you cannot see
You got to come now an' go with me

Well Death, consider my age
And do not take me in this stage
All my wealth is at your command
If you just remove your cold icy hand

Oh what is this I see?
Cold icy hands all over me
Say I am Death no one can excell
I open the doors of Death and Hell
 
 

It was soon one mornin' Death come a-creepin in my (room)
Soon one (morning), Death come a-creepin' in my room, Godalmighty knows
(Soon one morning) Death come a-creepin' in my (room)
Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, what shall I do to be (saved)

Well hush children (hush) heard my (Lord call my name)
Hush (children hush), heard my Lord call Godalmighty knows
(Hush children, hush), heard my Lord call (my name)
Oh my Lord, oh my Lord (what) shall I do to be (saved)?

I'm gonna stand right here, I'm gonna wait till Je(sus come)
I'm gonna stand right (here), gonna wait until Jesus come, Godalmighty
(I'm gonna stand right here), gonna wait till Jesus (come)
Oh my (Lord), oh my Lord (what) shall I do to be (saved)?

Well soon one morning, Death come a creepin' in my (room)
Soon one morning Death come a-creepin' in my room, Godalmighty
(Soon one morning Death come a-creepin' in my room
Oh my Lord, O my Lord, what shall I do to be saved?)
 
 

Death don't have no mercy in this land
Death don't have no mercy in this land
He'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and somebody be gone
Death don't have no mercy in this land

Death'll go in any family in this land
Death'll go in any family in this land
Well, he'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and one of your family be gone
Death'll go in any family in this land

He never takes a vacation in this land
Well ol' Death never takes a vacation in this land
Well, he'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and your mother be gone
Old Death never takes a vacation in this land

Well he'll leave you standin' and cryin' in this land
Well Death'll leave you standin' and cryin' in this land
Well, he'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and somebody be gone
Well he'll leave you standin' and cryin' in this land

Oh Death's always in a hurry in this land
Oh Death's always in a hurry in this land
Well, he'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and your mother be gone
Death's always in a hurry in this land

And he won't give you time to get ready in this land
But he won't give you time to get ready in this land
Well, he'll come to your house an' he won't stay long
You look in the bed and somebody be gone

I got me a letter this mornin' how do you reckon it read?
It said hurry the gal you love is dead
I got a letter this mornin' how do you reckon it read?
You know it say hurry hurry 'cause the gal you love is dead

So I grabbed up my suitcase, took out don the road
When I got there she was layin' on the coolin' board
I grabbed up my suitcase, I said I took out doown the road
I said when I got there, she was layin' on the coolin' board

Well, I walked up right close, looked down in her face
Said good ol' gal gonna lay there 'til Judgement Day
I walked up right close, I said I looked down in her face
I said good old girl gonna lay there 'til Judgement Day

Look like ten thousand people standin' 'round the buryin' ground
I didn't know I loved her 'til they let her down
Looked like ten thousand was standin' round the buryin' ground
You know I didn't know I loved her until they began to let her down

Well, I hold up my arm, I walked away
I say farewell honey I see you Judgement Day
Yes, oh yes I walked away
I said farewell farewell 'n' I see you Judgement Day

You know I didn't feel so bad 'til the good old sun went down
I didn't have a soul to throw my arms around
I didn't feel so bad until the good old sun went down
mmmm mmm

You know, so hard to love someone don't love you
Ain't no satisfaction, don't care what you do
Yeah, it so hard to love someone don't love you
You know don't get no satisfaction, don't care what you do

Well I got up this mornin' break of day
Just huggin' the pillow (where) she used to lay
I said soooon this mornin' yes at break of day
You know I was huggin' the pillow where my good gal used to lay

Mmm, I got up this mornin' feelin' 'round for my shoes
You know I must have had the walkin' blues
Soon this mornin' I feelin' round for my shoes
Yeah, I know mine, I musta had the walkin' blues

Oh hush, I thought I heard her call my name
It wasn't so loud but so nice and plain
Yeah, mmm mmm
Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm

(See more on Son House and alternate lyrics)

Lease 20 acres and one ginny mule
From the Alabama Trust
Half of the cotton, third of the corn
Get a handful of dust

(Chorus)
We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

I had a daughter, called her Annabelle
She's the apple of my eye
Tried to give her somethin' like I never had
Didn't want to ever hear her cry

When I'm dead an buried I take a hard life of tears
From every day I've ever known
Anna's in the churchyard, she got no life at all
She only got these words on a stone

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled 'round his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath'rin'.
And the cops was called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

William Zanzinger, who had twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland,
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was a-snarlin',
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

Hattie Carroll was a maid in the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and give birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room,
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle.
And she never done nothin' to William Zanzinger.
And you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom,
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'.
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished,
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance,
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence.
Ah, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears.

(for more details and background to the story and the writing of the song, see  Christopher Ricks and the  True Story of William Zanzinger)
 
 

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

(see a  summary of the origins of the text, and a  review of the recent Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, and a Cry for Civil Rights which gives further details)
 
 

Early this mornin'
when you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin', ooh
when you knocked upon my door
And I said, "Hello, Satan,"
I believe it's time to go."

Me and the Devil
was walkin' side by side
Me and the Devil, ooh
was walkin' side by side
And I'm goin' to beat my woman
until I get satisfied

She say she don't see why
that I will dog her 'round
spoken: Now, babe, you know you ain't doin' me
right, now
She say she don't see why, ooh
that I would dog her 'round
It must-a be that old evil spirit
so deep down in the ground

You may bury my body
down by the highway side
[spoken:] Baby, I don't care where you bury my
body when I'm dead and gone
You may bury my body, ooh
down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit
can catch a Greyhound bus and ride

(see  Robert Johnson and the Crossroads Curse and Adam Compagna's  The Devil in Robert Johnson for a wider perspective)
 
 

Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thought
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy is Sunday
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
Let them not weep
Let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I'll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday

Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart. dear
Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy Sunday
 
 

Lay down body
Lay down a little while
Lay down body
Lay down a little while
I know you're tired / Lay down body
You is tired / your soul need restin'
Don't you worry / my God call you
When he call / Tombstone movin'
Grave is a-bustin' / Soul is a-risin'
Oh! body / This ol' body
I know you tired / And your soul need restin'
You been toilin' / for a long time
And yo' soul need restin' / You don't worry
My God call you / And when He call
He will wake you / Tombstone movin'
Grave is a-bustin' / Soul is a-risin'
Oh body / Lay down body
Lay down body/ I know you tired
Soul need restin'
Oh body / This ol' body
Lay down body / Lay down body
Soul and body / Need some restin'
Oh body
You don't worry / My God'll call you
and He call / He will wake you
Tombstone movin' / Grave is a-bustin'
Soul be risin' / Oh body
This old body / Need some restin'
Need some restin'
You been toilin' / For a long time
I know you tired / I know you tired
Oh body / This old body
Soul need restin'
This old body / Oh body
This old body
My God call you / Grave is a-bustin'
Tombstone movin'
Oh body / Oh body
Lay down body / Lay down body
Oh body / Soul and body
I know you tired / You been toilin'
For a long time / I know you tired
Lay down body / Lay down body
Oh body
My God'll wake you / And tombstone movin'
Grave is a-bustin' / Soul is a-risin'
Oh body
Soul and body / I know you tired
Soul needs restin' / Oh body

(more about  ring shout : "...the oldest surviving African American performance in this country... the "shout" is the movement, not the singing...")
 
 

Depart from life to eternity, the thought makes us all most melancholy
Depart from life to eternity, the thought makes us all most melancholy
Though we may be suffering excruciatingly, still among the living we would rather be
Well no sir let me say with no grief or regret
You cannot escape the arrows of Death

It matters not how cruel to us the world may be
How we may be ostracized from society
Groveling in the gutter in abject poverty
Fighting but failing miserably
Still we desperately cling with vise-like tenacity
To prolong our life interminably
Well no sir let me say with no grief or regret
We cannot escape the arrows of Death

You can be a king as Nebuchadnezzar, you can be as old as Methusela
Just as Abraham our forefather, wise old Solomon who walk with the Queen of Sheba
However stoical may be your philosophy
Still we're living on the brink of eternity
Well no sir let me say in case you forget
We cannot escape the arrows of Death
 
 

Words by : Adam McNaughton
Tune of : The Mason's Apron

There was a king nodding in his garden all alone,
When his brother in his ear poured a little bit of henbane,
Stole his brother's crown and his money and his widow,
But the dead king walked and got his son and said, "Hey listen kiddo,
I've been killed and it's your duty to take revenge on Claudius,
You kill him quick and clean and tell the nation what a fraud he is."
The kid says, "Right I'll do it, but I'll have to play it crafty,
So that no one will suspect me I'll kid on that I'm a dafty."

So for all (except Horatio, and he counts him as a friend)
Hamlet, (that's the kid) he kids on he's 'round the bend,
And because he isn't ready for obligatory killing,
He tries to make the king think he's tuppence off a shilling.
Takes a rise out of Polonius, treats poor Ophelia vile,
Tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Denmark's a bleedin' jail,
Then a troupe of traveling actors like Seven Eighty-four,
Arrive to do a special one-night gig in Elsinore.

Hamlet, Hamlet, acting barmy,
Hamlet, Hamlet, loves his mommy,
Hamlet, Hamlet, hesitating,
Wonders if the ghost's a cheat,
And that is why he's waiting.

So Hamlet wrote a scene for the players to enact,
So Horatio and him could watch to see if Claudius cracked,
Now, the play was called "The Mousetrap" (not the one that's running now),
And sure enough the king walks out before the final bow.
So Hamlet's got the proof that Claudius gave his dad the dose,
The only problem being now that Claudius knows he knows,
So while Hamlet tells his mother her new husband's not a fit one,
Uncle Claude puts out a contract with the English king as hit man.

So when Hamlet killed Polonius, the concealed corpus delecti,
Was the king's excuse to send him for an English hempen necktie,
With Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to make quite sure he got there,
But Hamlet jumped the boat and put the finger straight on that pair.
When Laertes heard his dad had been stabbed through the arras,
He came running back to Elsinore tout-suite hot-foot from Paris.
When Ophelia with her dad killed by the man she was to marry,
After saying it with flowers, she committed hari-kari.

Hamlet, Hamlet, no messin'
Hamlet, Hamlet, learned his lesson
Hamlet, Hamlet, Yorick's crust
Convinced him that men good or bad,
At last must come to dust.

Then Laertes lost his place and was demanding retribution,
The king said keep your head and I'll provide you a solution.
So the king arranged a swordfight for the interested parties,
With a blunted sword for Hamlet and a sharp sword for Laertes.
To make double sure (the old belt-and-braces line),
He fixed up a poisoned sword-tip and a poisoned cup of wine.
Well, the poisoned sword got Hamlet, but Laertes went and muffed it,
'Cause he stabbed himself and he confessed before he snuffed it.

Then Hamlet's mommy drank the wine and as her face turned blue,
Hamlet said, "I believe the king's a baddie through and through."
"Incestuous, murderous, damned Dane," he said, to be precise,
Then made up for hesitating once, by killing Claudius twice.
'Cause he stabbed him with the knife and forced the wine between his lips
He sas, "The rest is silence," that was Hamlet, had his chips.
They fired a volley over him that shook the topmost rafter,
Then Fortinbras, knee deep in Danes, lived happily ever after.

Hamlet, Hamlet, all that gory
Hamlet, Hamlet, end of story
Hamlet, Hamlet, I'm on my way
If you think that was boring,
You should read the bloody play.

(see more about this one at  asylum.apocalypse.org and about the  background to Amleth/Hamlet )