They Put You In a Wooden Box
Written by one of Peter's niece's Marie:
We come from a family of singers. Peter Sr. had a deep baritone voice, quite possibly lower than his son. Nettie sang and danced, and all their siblings are singers, so music was encouraged in our family.
Every Wednesday night, most of the family would flock to Red Hook to visit our Aunt Helen and along the trip, we'd do what other families would do in the car -- we'd sing. Sometimes they were melodies on the radio. Sometimes they were tunes from Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra ... they were usually songs that could be adapted to various octaves. Sometimes we'd practice tongue twisters -- sort of an old-fashioned rap -- and other times Nettie and Pete would tell stories about life when they were younger.
This next song was taught to us by the younger Peter - like a witch's bedtime story - it soon became a family favorite. I don't know where Peter originally heard this song, but we love it. Enjoy:
If you see a hearse go by
Then you know that you're next to die
They put you in a wooden box
Cover you over with dirt and rocks
And then it starts
The worms crawl in
The worms crawl out
Into your stomach
And out of your mouth
The worms crawl in
The worms crawl out
Eating your guts
And shitting them out
(-)
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