Never laugh as a hearse goes by, for you may be the next to die

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Never laugh as a hearse goes by, for you may be the next to die

«‹›2 »

Facebook Aunt: Oct 4, 2008; wiggle wiggle

Was this ever a big problem? People breaking into wild guffaws whenever a hearse went by, so they needed to make a song to warn everybody to stop?

Wikipedia shockingly has no information about the origin of the song. Just that it's been around since WW1 maybe back to the 1850s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hearse_Song

If you've been living under a goddam rock, or maybe you're just foreign, and don't know what I'm talking about here's the song. Be warned, it's catchy as hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJppqS8uDyQ

To make things more confusing and mysterious there are lots of different versions. Lots. Like this overly dramatic presentation that has a beetle with demonic eyes instead of green worm with rolling eyes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xclh_676KwE
Overall this version seems less credible. Why would they wrap you in bloody sheets? Where do you even buy bloody sheets? Isn't it far more likely they wrap you up in white sheets, as the previous version suggests? The sheets might get bloody if you're all bloody, but no one is going to bloody sheet store specifically to buy bloody sheets.

Some versions go for an outright threat "whoever laughs when a hearse goes by will surely be the next to die". Who are all these people laughing at hearses?

Facebook Aunt fucked around with this message at 08:26 on Aug 26, 2019

# ? Aug 26, 2019 08:23

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 27, 2024 03:23

Devils Affricate: Jan 22, 2010

I mean, imagine seeing David Koch's hearse go by

# ? Aug 26, 2019 08:34

I Said No: May 21, 2007; jesus dude ur gonna kill someone with that av

Devils Affricate posted:

I mean, imagine seeing David Koch's hearse go by

Gotta admit, the Koch Hearse is probably the weirdest version of the Bang Bus

# ? Aug 26, 2019 08:40

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

I Said No posted:

Gotta admit, the Koch Hearse is probably the weirdest version of the Bang Bus

hahah

Re, the thread, well, the song was written in the 1850's and hearses were most likely pulled by a horse. What if the laughing maniacs are just your average maniac who enjoys the sight of horses?

# ? Aug 26, 2019 08:48

Mooey Cow: Jan 27, 2018; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Pillbug

Facebook Aunt posted:

Some versions go for an outright threat "whoever laughs when a hearse goes by will surely be the next to die". Who are all these people laughing at hearses?

They're dead, OP. That's why you don't see them anymore.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:00

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

Dead men write the best music, like 2Pac, and Prince, and the nice fancy man from Queen.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:03

Facebook Aunt: Oct 4, 2008; wiggle wiggle

The worms crawl in, the worms, crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:08

Facebook Aunt: Oct 4, 2008; wiggle wiggle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_zhgi3OX1U

How the hell are worms doing this?!?

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:10

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

Facebook Aunt posted:

The worms crawl in, the worms, crawl out, the worms play pinochle on your snout

Teeheehee *covers nose*

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:10

Creed Reunion Tour: Jul 3, 2007; by Cyrano4747; Grimey Drawer

im the worms in the song

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:26

Origami Dali: Jan 7, 2005; Get ready to fuck!
You fucker's fucker!
You fucker!

The "worms go in, worms go out" bit comes from the earliest versions of the folk song "Skin and Bones".

This is the more modern version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8_91r98td8

The one below is the oldest audio recording of it, and is pretty spooky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWm2lT6Etg

It's typically called an American folk song, but it's origins are at least as early as 1810 in Britain, under the name "The Gay Lady That Went to Church", and features the "worms crawl in, worms crawl out" line.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 09:59

Mr. Bones: Jan 2, 2011; ain't no law says a skeleton can't play the blues

My Noni loved that song and sang it all the time. She was the sweetest woman imaginable but she definitely had a morbid aspect to her character.

For example, her first husband cheated on her and had a whole separate family and children she didn't know about, and he eventually ditched her to live with them. When she read in the newspaper a few years later that they'd all burned to death in a house fire, she clipped out the article and kept it to commemorate the event :stare:

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:27

Origami Dali: Jan 7, 2005; Get ready to fuck!
You fucker's fucker!
You fucker!

jesus, your noni owned

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:29

Mr. Bones: Jan 2, 2011; ain't no law says a skeleton can't play the blues

Origami Dali posted:

jesus, your noni owned

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:32

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

Long Live Noni!

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:37

Doc Block: Apr 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

what if your noni set the fire :ninja:

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:40

Sunswipe: Feb 5, 2016; by Fluffdaddy

Good Ol Filbert posted:

hahah

Re, the thread, well, the song was written in the 1850's and hearses were most likely pulled by a horse. What if the laughing maniacs are just your average maniac who enjoys the sight of horses?

What if the horse did a massive dump and someone following the hearse slipped in it? You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh at that.

Doc Block posted:

what if your noni set the fire

She absolutely did, killers always keep a memento.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:48

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

Sunswipe posted:

What if the horse did a massive dump and someone following the hearse slipped in it? You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh at that.

That is true.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:51

Mr. Bones: Jan 2, 2011; ain't no law says a skeleton can't play the blues

Doc Block posted:

what if your noni set the fire

I wouldn't blame her one bit if she did, I'll tell ya that. I also wouldn't count out the possibility. That happened in like the 40s though, and she's dead, so nobody knows for sure except her and the worms.

Also, did I mention she was born on Halloween? :spooky:

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:53

Doc Block: Apr 15, 2003; Fun Shoe

maybe you shouldn�t laugh because in the old days hearses were open, horse drawn carts, and laughing meant breathing in big gulps of rotting corpse air. 🤷‍♂️

or maybe it�s just really rude. unless a billionaire is in the hearse, in which case laugh all you want.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 10:55

Dang It Bhabhi!: May 27, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT
BEING
ESCULA GRIND'S
#1 SIMP

noni definitely set that fire and she wanted you to know it.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:10

sandwiches_and_ham: Aug 2, 2018; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

are you threatening me op?

somebody call the cops :cop:

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:11

Mooey Cow: Jan 27, 2018; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Pillbug

Never laugh when a thread is gassed, for yours may be the next to blast.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:19

Colonel Cancer: Sep 26, 2015; Tune into the fireplace channel, you absolute buffoon

If you chortle when goonne gets banne,
You may be the next in line

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:27

nishi koichi: Feb 16, 2007; everyone feels that way and gives up.
that's how they get away with it.

i hope so op

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:34

Pennywise the Frown: May 10, 2010; Upset Trowel

Wasn't that in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book? That scared the poo poo out of me.

This of course as well. Great children's book.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:52

Dang It Bhabhi!: May 27, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT
BEING
ESCULA GRIND'S
#1 SIMP

If you quote someone who just got probated
And then laugh at them
It could be you who then gets probated
Just a heads up

# ? Aug 26, 2019 11:53

Pennywise the Frown: May 10, 2010; Upset Trowel

Hah, found my copy from the mid 90s.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 12:33

Pitdragon: Jan 20, 2004; Just another lurker

Sing the rest of the song OP!!!

# ? Aug 26, 2019 12:42

nishi koichi: Feb 16, 2007; everyone feels that way and gives up.
that's how they get away with it.

when you shiver unexpectedly it means someone just walked across your grave

# ? Aug 26, 2019 12:51

Good Ol Filbert: Jun 10, 2019

Pennywise the Frown posted:

Hah, found my copy from the mid 90s.

Holy moley!

# ? Aug 26, 2019 12:56

Bonaventure: Jun 23, 2005; by sebmojo

Origami Dali posted:

The "worms go in, worms go out" bit comes from the earliest versions of the folk song "Skin and Bones".

This is the more modern version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8_91r98td8

The one below is the oldest audio recording of it, and is pretty spooky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWm2lT6Etg

It's typically called an American folk song, but it's origins are at least as early as 1810 in Britain, under the name "The Gay Lady That Went to Church", and features the "worms crawl in, worms crawl out" line.

the earliest I can find is 'The Ballad of Alonzo the Brave and the Fair Imogine' (or, Imogene) written by M. G. Lewis and published in 1796 as part of his [awesome] novel "The Monk," which contains the following stanza:

code:

All present then uttered a terrified shout,	
  All turned with disgust from the scene;	
The worms they crept in, and the worms they crept out,	
And sported his eyes and his temples about,	      
  While the spectre addressed Imogine:

# ? Aug 26, 2019 14:41

Torquemada: Oct 21, 2010; Drei GlÃ¤ser

This is loving stupid, everyone dies anyway. Laugh at the hearse if you want, you only have a tiny window of opportunity in which to do so.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 15:01

redm: Feb 20, 2016; Sugartime Jones

i always associated this song with nursery rhymes because the first time i saw it was in a childrens book (still spooky tho)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbGmcTmHJ6U

# ? Aug 26, 2019 15:16

Valko: Sep 18, 2015

One of my buddies, who went off to technical college to study music, says that one of his classmates drove a hearse. He bought it cheap and then decked it out like Krieger's van in Archer with heavy metal artwork. This thread got me curious so I went googling and found some pictures. It's apparently not an unusual thing to do.

I also found this while searching for images:

https://www.japanallover.com/2012/04/japanese-hearse/

Pretty standard in Japan to decorate a hearse like a buddhist temple.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 16:20

Telebite: Aug 23, 2018

Check this one out:

You ain't never seen a hearse with a u-haul on the back, have you?

Pretty deep!

# ? Aug 26, 2019 16:27

Brute Hole Force: Dec 25, 2005; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Valko posted:

One of my buddies, who went off to technical college to study music, says that one of his classmates drove a hearse. He bought it cheap and then decked it out like Krieger's van in Archer with heavy metal artwork. This thread got me curious so I went googling and found some pictures. It's apparently not an unusual thing to do.

How many leave it to industry appearance spec but just add a "baby on board" sign?

# ? Aug 26, 2019 20:11

Rod Hoofhearted: Jun 18, 2000; I am a ghost

Valko posted:

One of my buddies, who went off to technical college to study music, says that one of his classmates drove a hearse. He bought it cheap and then decked it out like Krieger's van in Archer with heavy metal artwork. This thread got me curious so I went googling and found some pictures. It's apparently not an unusual thing to do.

Used hearses tend to be cheap because a) most people don't want a car that's had dead bodies in it, and b) their gas mileage is horrible.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 20:31

Brother Tadger: Feb 15, 2012; I'm accidentally a suicide bomber!

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, OP, IT TOLLS FOR THEE!

# ? Aug 26, 2019 20:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 27, 2024 03:23

Valko: Sep 18, 2015

Tony and Labya, you both make valid points. I met the guy who drove the hearse. He was like a megadeth/iron maiden t-shirt in human form. I don't think gas mileage or anything of the sort was on his mind when he bought it.

On a different note, there is a Catholic Church directly opposite the bar I work at (rural ireland, lol). Every time a limo peels away with a newlywed couple in it some middle aged married guy at the bar says "Hmph, might as well be hearse taking off." I've heard that dumb joke as many times as I've seen goons tell each other to turn their monitor on.

# ? Aug 26, 2019 20:51

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > Never laugh as a hearse goes by, for you may be the next to die

«‹›2 »