Lyrics
"Resurrection men, your fate deplore,
Expressing disdain for resurrection men and their unfortunate fate.
Retire with fore vexation,
Advising them to retire with frustration and distress.
Your mystery's gone, your art's no more,
Highlighting the loss of mystery and the end of their art.
No more your occupation :
Emphasizing the cessation of their occupation.
Surgeons no more shall ye ransack
Surgeons are no longer able to plunder graves with indifference.
The grave with feelings callous
Despite turning away from legal consequences, their only hope is the gallows.
Tho' on the Old Bailey turn'd your back,
Reference to the Old Bailey, a famous criminal court in London.
Your only hopes the gallows"
Underlining the gravity of their situation with the possibility of execution.
Mr. Diben The Patent Cof in 1818
A historical reference to Mr. Diben and the Patent Coffin in 1818.
Stalk through hallowed headstones
Encouraging the stalking of graveyards for profit.
For notes and coin, trade flesh and bone
Describing the trade of flesh and bone for monetary gain.
Your eternal rest may, become nocturnal wrest
Suggesting that eternal rest may turn into nocturnal struggle or unrest.
The newly deceased, still bereaved
Referring to the recently deceased who are still grieving in the afterlife.
Snatched from their peace, taken without leave
Indicating the forcible taking of the deceased without permission.
Truncated repose, for the decomposed
Describing the disturbed rest of the decomposed.
Adamantine clasp of the mortsafe, the muddy bonds of earth
Mentioning the strong grasp of the mortsafe and the earth's muddy bonds.
Patent coffins do not vouchsafe, calm repose beneath the turf
Patent coffins do not guarantee peaceful rest under the soil.
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor six feet of sod a grave
Quoting that stone walls and six feet of earth do not define a prison or grave.
Pray the lord your soul to take, you'll need defenders of the
Urging to pray for divine protection as defenders of the grave are needed.
Graves' occupants, so dearly prized
Referring to the occupants of graves as valuable but exploited.
But to butcher, not to eulogize
Contrasting the true purpose of laying the deceased to rest with the act of butchering for profit.
To rest they were laid, now sold under the blade
Expressing that the resting dead are now sold for profit.
Who turns the key to the mortsafe, when the sexton stuffs his purse?
Posing a question about who controls access to the mortsafe when the sexton enriches himself.
Nightwatchmen cannot vouchsafe, calm repose beneath the turf
Asserting that nightwatchmen cannot ensure peaceful rest under the soil.
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor six feet of sod a grave
Reiterating that stone walls and earth do not guarantee confinement or repose.
So pray the lord your soul to take, you'll need defenders of the grave
Encouraging prayer for protection, highlighting the need for defenders of the grave.
Defenders of the grave, hallmarks of this ghoulish age
Describing defenders of the grave as characteristic of a macabre era.
Defenders of the grave, defenders of the
Repeating the notion of defenders of the grave.
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor shovels full of sod a grave
Reiterating that stone walls and shovels of earth do not define a prison or grave.
So pray the lord your soul to take, you'll need defenders of the grave
Stressing the importance of prayer for protection and the need for defenders of the grave.
Defenders of the grave, hallmarks of this ghoulish age
Reiterating defenders of the grave as characteristic of a macabre era.
Defenders of the grave, defenders of the grave
Final repetition of the concept of defenders of the grave.
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