«…a most extraordinary circumstance that took place on Friday night,
the 31s t October 1828, in a House in the West Port, Edinburgh,
where an old Woman of the name of Campbell is supposed to have been Murdered,
and her Body Sold to a Medical Doctor.» — Edinburgh Broadsheet 3r d of
November, 1828
«Up the close and doun the stair
But and been with Burke and Hare
Burke’s the butcher, Hare’s the thief
Knox the boy that buys the beef» — 19t h century Edinburgh skipping rhyme
Hare: Follow me to my humble lodging
What’s mine is yours, such as it may be
Dr. Knox: Enjoy the hospitality, soon you’ll be cold dead anatomy
Hare: Along the narrow, crooked wynd
Then through the close, this house you’ll find
Dr. Knox: So many honored guests to fete, always an empty bed to let
Chorus: A funeral party
Hare: Drink up, the hour is growing late
Chorus: A funeral party
Dr. Knox: The fete will end when you meet your fate
Hare: Here you may rest from your journeys
And warm your bones with a dram of whiskey
Dr. Knox: Drink to what’s left of your health, soon you’ll be another corpse
to sell
Hare: Intoxicated, the room starts to spin
And at that moment our night work begins
Dr. Knox: Quietly asphyxiate, you see your end, but far too late
Chorus: A funeral party
Burke: Drink up, the hour is growing late
Chorus: A funeral party
Dr. Knox: S tuff the carcass in a crate
Narrator: All revels must come to their end
So for the constable the tenants send
False friends meet most unpleasant ends
The corpus delicti now made evident
Solo — Matthew Harvey
Solo — Michael Burke
Solo — Matthew Harvey
Chorus: A funeral party
Burke: Step inside and have a quaff
Chorus: A funeral party
Hare: Where guests soon shuffle off
Chorus: A funeral party
Narrator: Protests of innocence rebuffed
Chorus: A funeral party
Narrator: The life of the party — snuffed