Night Work

«The corporation of corpse-stealers, I am told, support themselves and Families
very comfortably, and that no-one should be surprised at the Nature of Such a
Society, the late Resurrectionists in St. Saviours, St. Giles’s and St.
Pancras churchyards, are memorable Instances of this laudable Profession.
«Anonymous ​A View of London and Westminster 1728
«Blest be ye man spares these stones, And curste be ye moves my bones» —
William Shakespeare’s epitaph 1616
Hare: ​Welcome to our nocturnal vocation
Disembalming we grimly extract the expired
Disinterring by lanthorn illumination
To fulfill anatomists' cadaverous desires —
Dr. Knox: ​Giving Nightwatchmen fits with the mortsafes you’ve picked Finding
fresh graves to dig, I must say it’s a hell of a gig
Chorus: ​Night work be done, the lifeless made graveless. our prize to be won
Exhumed by torchlight, dead weight dead to rights
This night work, an unholy sight, undertaken tonight
Hare: ​A livelihood in death we scrape
Your casket vacant, corpse taken forthwith
From our fell spades you will not escape
Second coming ignominious, unclean and sick —
Dr. Knox: ​Wooden shovels and picks, from your tomb you’ll be nicked
Sink to new depths of sick, compunction cut to the quick
Chorus: ​Night work be done, the lifeless made graveless our prize to be won
Exhumed by torchlight, dead weight dead to rights
This night work, an unholy sight, undertaken tonight
Solo — Matthew Harvey
Dr. Knox: ​It's a dirty job, finding fresh graves to rob
Solo — Michael Burke
Dr. Knox: ​These are dirty deeds, six feet of dirt, dug dirt cheap
Solo — Matthew Harvey
Dr. Knox: ​It's a dirty job, finding fresh graves to ro
Toil as the casket’s slaves, death is our living wage
Chorus: ​Night work be done, the lifeless made graveless our prize to be won
Exhumed by torchlight, dead weight dead to rights
This night work, an unholy sight, undertaken this —
Night work be done, the lifeless made graveless our prize to be won Exhumed by
torchlight, dead weight dead to rights
This night work, an unholy sight, undertaken tonight