The Hearse Song

The Hearse Song is a popular song found in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It is a song about burial and human decomposition, of unknown origin. It was popular as a World War I song, and was popular in the 20th century as an American and British children's song, continuing to the present. It has many variant titles, lyrics, and melodies, but generally features the line "the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out", and thus is also known as "The Worms Crawl In". While there are reports of the song dating back to British soldiers in the Crimean War (1853–1856), it certainly dates to at least World War I (1914–1918), when it was sung by American and British soldiers, and was collected in various World War I songbooks of the 1920s.



Lyrics
Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by,

For you may be the next to die

They wrap you 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

Crawl 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.