Grave Humor/Quotes: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Mel Blanc 4-15-05.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mel Blanc]]: [[That's All, Folks!]]]] |
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The "one parting joke" as a gravestone epitaph is an obscure tradition which has been going on, largely [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|under the radar]], since at least the eighteenth or nineteenth century. There are many printed books of these, some dating back as far as [[The Sixties]]: |
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* Grave Humor by Alonzo C. Hall. Charlotte, N.C., McNally of Charlotte, 1961. |
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* Over Their Dead Bodies by Thomas C. Mann and Janet Greene. Brattleboro, Vt., Stephen Greene Press, 1962. |
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* Last Laughs: Funny Tombstone Quotes and Famous Last Words, Kathleen E. Miller, Sterling Publishing Company 2006. |
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* I Told You I Was Sick: A Grave Book of Curious Epitaphs by Nigel Rees. 288 pages. Cassell (1 Nov 2005). |
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These also appear occasionally in fictional works. ''[[Fallout 2]]'' appears to have taken and incorporated a list of amusing gravestone inscriptions which has been circulating unattributed online (with minor variation) for decades. Some of these lists were created merely as a jokebook-style compilation, but many of the epitaphs are real. |
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** {{quote|Here lies the body of our Anna |
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Some examples: |
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{{quote|Here lies the body of our Anna |
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Done to death by a banana. |
Done to death by a banana. |
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It wasn't the fruit that laid her low, |
It wasn't the fruit that laid her low, |
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But the skin of the thing that made her go. |
But the skin of the thing that made her go. |
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|epitaph of Anna Hopewell, Enosburg Falls, Vermont}} |
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** {{quote|The children of Israel wanted bread |
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{{quote|The children of Israel wanted bread |
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And the Lord sent them manna. |
And the Lord sent them manna. |
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Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife, |
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife, |
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And the Devil sent him Anna. |
And the Devil sent him Anna. |
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|epitaph of Anna Wallace in Ribbesford, England}} |
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** {{quote| |
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{{quote| |
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Here lies Ann Mann, |
Here lies Ann Mann, |
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Who lived an old maid |
Who lived an old maid |
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But died an old Mann. |
But died an old Mann. |
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|epitaph of Ann Mann, London UK, Dec. 8, 1767}} |
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** {{quote|Here underneath this little stone |
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{{quote|“Captain Thomas Coffin. |
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Died 1842. Age 50 years. |
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He’s done a-catching cod. |
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And gone to meet his God.” |
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|epitaph of a Rhode Island fisherman}} |
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{{quote|Here lies |
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Ezekial Aikle |
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Age 102 |
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The Good Die Young. |
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|epitaph of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia}} |
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{{quote|To the Memory of Abraham Beaulieu |
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Born 15 September 1822 |
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Accidentally shot 4th April 1844 |
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As a mark of affection from his brother. |
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|epitaph in La Pointe, Wisconsin}} |
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{{quote|Gone, but not forgiven. |
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|epitaph of an adulterous husband in Atlanta}} |
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{{quote|Here underneath this little stone |
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Lies Robert Earl of Huntington |
Lies Robert Earl of Huntington |
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No archer were as he so good |
No archer were as he so good |
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and people called him Robin Hood |
and people called him Robin Hood |
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A skillful man, above all men |
A skillful man, above all men |
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this world will never see again |
this world will never see again |
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|epitaph on a lone grave in a New England forest}} |
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** {{quote|Molly though pleasant in her day |
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{{quote|Jedediah Goodwin. |
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Auctioneer. |
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Born 1828. |
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Going! Going! Gone! 1876. |
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|epitaph on an auctioneer’s tombstone}} |
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{{quote|G. Winch, the brewer, lies buried here. |
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In life he was both hale and stout. |
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Death brought him to his bitter bier. |
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Now in heaven he hops about. |
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|a brewer's epitaph}} |
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{{quote|John E. Goembel. 1867-1946. |
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The defense rests. |
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|an attorney’s epitaph}} |
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{{quote|Stranger tread this ground with gravity |
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Dentist Brown is filling his last cavity |
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|a dentist's epitaph}} |
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{{quote|Molly though pleasant in her day |
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Was suddenly seized and sent away |
Was suddenly seized and sent away |
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How soon she's ripe, how soon she's rott'n |
How soon she's ripe, how soon she's rott'n |
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Sent to her grave and soon forgott'n |
Sent to her grave and soon forgott'n |
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|epitaph of Mary "Molly" Fowler, Milford Cemetery, Connecticut}} |
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** {{quote|Sacred to the memory of |
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{{quote|Professor S. B. McCracken |
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School is out. |
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Teacher has gone home. |
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|epitaph of an Elkhart, Indiana instructor}} |
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{{quote|Sacred to the memory of |
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my husband John Barnes |
my husband John Barnes |
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who died January 3, 1803 |
who died January 3, 1803 |
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His comely young widow, aged 23, has |
His comely young widow, aged 23, has |
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many qualifications of a good wife, and |
many qualifications of a good wife, and |
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yearns to be comforted. |
yearns to be comforted. |
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|epitaph of a widow in Vermont}} |
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** {{quote|Beneath these stones do lie, |
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{{quote|Beneath these stones do lie, |
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Back to back my wife and I! |
Back to back my wife and I! |
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When the last trumpet the air shall fill |
When the last trumpet the air shall fill |
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If she gets up, I'll just lie still. |
If she gets up, I'll just lie still. |
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|epitaph on a Sargentville, Maine grave }} |
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** {{quote|Underneath this pile of stones |
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{{quote|Here lies Lester Moore |
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Four slugs from a .44 |
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No Les No More. |
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|epitaph of an 1880s Naco, Arizona Wells Fargo station agent in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone AZ}} |
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{{quote|Underneath this pile of stones |
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Lies all that's left of Sally Jones. |
Lies all that's left of Sally Jones. |
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Her name was Lord, it was not Jones, |
Her name was Lord, it was not Jones, |
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But Jones was used to rhyme with stones. |
But Jones was used to rhyme with stones. |
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|epitaph on a tombstone in Skaneateles, New York}} |
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** {{quote|Sir John Strange |
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{{quote|Here lies |
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Johnny Yeast |
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Pardon me |
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For not rising. |
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|epitaph in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery}} |
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{{quote|Sir John Strange |
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Here lies an honest lawyer, |
Here lies an honest lawyer, |
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And that is Strange. |
And that is Strange. |
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|epitaph on [[wikipedia:John Strange (English politician)|a lawyer's grave]] in England}} |
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It's no business |
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Of yours.|epitaph on a lawyer's grave in England}} |
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{{quote|Here lies the body |
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of Jonathan Blake |
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Stepped on the gas |
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Instead of the brake. |
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|epitaph in a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery}} |
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{{quote|Reader if cash thou art |
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In want of any |
In want of any |
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Dig 4 feet deep |
Dig 4 feet deep |
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And thou wilt find a Penny. |
And thou wilt find a Penny. |
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|epitaph of John Penny in Wimborne, England}} |
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** {{quote|She always said her feet were killing her |
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but nobody believed her.|epitaph on Margaret Daniels' grave at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia}} |
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{{quote|She always said her feet were killing her |
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but nobody believed her. |
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|epitaph on Margaret Daniels' grave at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia}} |
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{{quote|On the 22nd of June |
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- Jonathan Fiddle - |
- Jonathan Fiddle - |
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Went out of tune. |
Went out of tune. |
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|epitaph in a cemetery in Hartscombe, England}} |
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** {{quote|In Memory of Beza Wood |
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{{quote|In Memory of Beza Wood |
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Departed this life |
Departed this life |
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Nov. 2, 1837 |
Nov. 2, 1837 |
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Line 63: | Line 157: | ||
Is very good: |
Is very good: |
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We cannot praise |
We cannot praise |
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The other. |
The other. |
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|an epitaph in Winslow, Maine}} |
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** {{quote|Under the sod and under the trees |
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{{quote|Under the sod and under the trees |
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Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. |
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. |
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He is not here, there's only the pod: |
He is not here, there's only the pod: |
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Pease shelled out and went to God. |
Pease shelled out and went to God. |
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|epitaph from the 1880's in Nantucket, Massachusetts }} |
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** {{quote|Ellen Shannon, Who was fatally burned |
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{{quote|Gone Underground For Good. |
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|on a coal miner's grave}} |
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{{quote|Ellen Shannon, Who was fatally burned |
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March 21, 1870 |
March 21, 1870 |
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by the explosion of a lamp |
by the explosion of a lamp |
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filled with "R.E. Danforth's |
filled with "R.E. Danforth's |
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Non-Explosive Burning Fluid." |
Non-Explosive Burning Fluid." |
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|epitaph in Girard, Pennsylvania}} |
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** {{quote|Born 1903--Died 1942 |
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{{quote|Born 1903--Died 1942 |
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Looked up the elevator shaft to see if |
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if |
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the car was on the way down. It was. |
the car was on the way down. It was. |
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|epitaph of Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York}} |
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** {{quote|She lived with her husband fifty years |
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And died in the confident hope of a better life.|gravestone in Burlington, Vermont}} |
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{{quote|Here lays Butch, |
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We planted him raw. |
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He was quick on the trigger, |
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But slow on the draw. |
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|epitaph in a Silver City, Nevada cemetery}} |
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{{quote|I would rather be here than in Texas. |
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|gravestone in Colorado Springs, Colorado.}} |
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{{quote|She lived with her husband fifty years |
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And died in the confident hope of a better life. |
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|gravestone in Burlington, Vermont}} |
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{{quote|Here lies my wife: |
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Here let her lie! |
Here let her lie! |
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Now she's at rest |
Now she's at rest |
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And so am I. |
And so am I. |
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|unknown, another version ends "Now she has peace/And so do I"}} |
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** {{quote|Here lies an Atheist |
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{{quote|Here Lies Mary Smith |
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Silent At Last |
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|unknown}} |
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{{quote|Rebecca Freeland, 1741. |
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She drank good ale, |
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good punch and wine, |
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and lived to the age of 99. |
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|epitaph in a New Jersey cemetery}} |
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{{quote|Owen Moore |
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Gone away |
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Owin' more |
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Than he could pay. |
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|epitaph in Battersea, London UK}} |
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{{quote|Here lies the body of Margaret Bent, |
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She kicked up her heels and away she went. |
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|epitaph in Winterborn Steepleton Cemetery, Dorsetshire, England}} |
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{{quote|I was somebody. |
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Who, is no business |
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Of yours. |
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|an anonymous gravesite in Stowe, Vermont}} |
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{{quote|He got a fish-bone in his throat |
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and then he sang an angel note. |
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|an epitaph in Schenectady, New York}} |
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{{quote|Remember man, as you walk by, |
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As you are now, so once was I, |
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As I am now, so shall you be, |
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Remember this and follow me. |
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|epitaph from an English cemetery, also spotted in Atlanta. Various sermons mention a reply "To follow you I’ll not consent, Until I know which way you went."}} |
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{{quote|Hooray my brave boys |
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Let's rejoice at his fall. |
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For if he had lived |
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He would have buried us all. |
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|epitaph on a grave digger's own tombstone}} |
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{{quote|Here lies an Atheist |
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All dressed up |
All dressed up |
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And no place to go. |
And no place to go. |
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|epitaph in a Thurmont, Maryland cemetery}} |
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{{quote|I told you I was sick! |
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|Spike Milligan's epitaph<ref>Irish inscription: "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite". Many variants spotted on multiple graves in Florida, Georgia and elsewhere.</ref>}} |
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---- |
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Latest revision as of 17:03, 30 November 2019
The "one parting joke" as a gravestone epitaph is an obscure tradition which has been going on, largely under the radar, since at least the eighteenth or nineteenth century. There are many printed books of these, some dating back as far as The Sixties:
- Grave Humor by Alonzo C. Hall. Charlotte, N.C., McNally of Charlotte, 1961.
- Over Their Dead Bodies by Thomas C. Mann and Janet Greene. Brattleboro, Vt., Stephen Greene Press, 1962.
- Last Laughs: Funny Tombstone Quotes and Famous Last Words, Kathleen E. Miller, Sterling Publishing Company 2006.
- I Told You I Was Sick: A Grave Book of Curious Epitaphs by Nigel Rees. 288 pages. Cassell (1 Nov 2005).
These also appear occasionally in fictional works. Fallout 2 appears to have taken and incorporated a list of amusing gravestone inscriptions which has been circulating unattributed online (with minor variation) for decades. Some of these lists were created merely as a jokebook-style compilation, but many of the epitaphs are real.
Some examples:
Here lies the body of our Anna —epitaph of Anna Hopewell, Enosburg Falls, Vermont
|
The children of Israel wanted bread —epitaph of Anna Wallace in Ribbesford, England
|
Here lies Ann Mann, —epitaph of Ann Mann, London UK, Dec. 8, 1767
|
“Captain Thomas Coffin. —epitaph of a Rhode Island fisherman
|
Here lies —epitaph of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia
|
To the Memory of Abraham Beaulieu —epitaph in La Pointe, Wisconsin
|
Gone, but not forgiven. —epitaph of an adulterous husband in Atlanta
|
Here underneath this little stone —epitaph on a lone grave in a New England forest
|
Jedediah Goodwin. —epitaph on an auctioneer’s tombstone
|
G. Winch, the brewer, lies buried here. —a brewer's epitaph
|
John E. Goembel. 1867-1946. —an attorney’s epitaph
|
Stranger tread this ground with gravity —a dentist's epitaph
|
Molly though pleasant in her day —epitaph of Mary "Molly" Fowler, Milford Cemetery, Connecticut
|
Professor S. B. McCracken —epitaph of an Elkhart, Indiana instructor
|
Sacred to the memory of —epitaph of a widow in Vermont
|
Beneath these stones do lie, —epitaph on a Sargentville, Maine grave
|
Here lies Lester Moore —epitaph of an 1880s Naco, Arizona Wells Fargo station agent in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone AZ
|
Underneath this pile of stones —epitaph on a tombstone in Skaneateles, New York
|
Here lies —epitaph in a Ruidoso, New Mexico, cemetery
|
Sir John Strange —epitaph on a lawyer's grave in England
|
Here lies the body —epitaph in a Uniontown, Pennsylvania cemetery
|
Reader if cash thou art —epitaph of John Penny in Wimborne, England
|
She always said her feet were killing her —epitaph on Margaret Daniels' grave at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
|
On the 22nd of June —epitaph in a cemetery in Hartscombe, England
|
In Memory of Beza Wood —an epitaph in Winslow, Maine
|
Under the sod and under the trees —epitaph from the 1880's in Nantucket, Massachusetts
|
Gone Underground For Good. —on a coal miner's grave
|
Ellen Shannon, Who was fatally burned —epitaph in Girard, Pennsylvania
|
Born 1903--Died 1942 —epitaph of Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York
|
Here lays Butch, —epitaph in a Silver City, Nevada cemetery
|
I would rather be here than in Texas. —gravestone in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
|
She lived with her husband fifty years —gravestone in Burlington, Vermont
|
Here lies my wife: —unknown, another version ends "Now she has peace/And so do I"
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Here Lies Mary Smith —unknown
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Rebecca Freeland, 1741. —epitaph in a New Jersey cemetery
|
Owen Moore —epitaph in Battersea, London UK
|
Here lies the body of Margaret Bent, —epitaph in Winterborn Steepleton Cemetery, Dorsetshire, England
|
I was somebody. —an anonymous gravesite in Stowe, Vermont
|
He got a fish-bone in his throat —an epitaph in Schenectady, New York
|
Remember man, as you walk by, —epitaph from an English cemetery, also spotted in Atlanta. Various sermons mention a reply "To follow you I’ll not consent, Until I know which way you went."
|
Hooray my brave boys —epitaph on a grave digger's own tombstone
|
Here lies an Atheist —epitaph in a Thurmont, Maryland cemetery
|
I told you I was sick! —Spike Milligan's epitaph[1]
|
- Back to Grave Humor
- ↑ Irish inscription: "Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite". Many variants spotted on multiple graves in Florida, Georgia and elsewhere.