Skeleton

Here's a song for Halloween...

I Am A Skeleton In A Skin

I am a skeleton in a skin,
I'm made to hold your insides in.
Wherever you should choose to go
I'm always here; from head to toe
And whether you are fat or thin
I'm made to hold your insides in.

I am a skeleton in a skin,
I'm made to hold your insides in.
It doesn't matter whether you're big or small;
I come in sizes to fit you all
And whether you are fat or thin
I'm made to hold your insides in.

And when it's time for you to die
Your spirit flies up to the sky, *
But I am left to hang around
And buried six feet** in the ground.
Where I am wont to rattle at night
To give the passers-by a fright.
And whether you are fat or thin
I'm made to hold your insides in.

*Although not scientifically correct, many cultures and religions
offer beliefs that allow a person's spirit or soul to leave its Earthly body
and go to some higher place after the body dies. [see: Orwell Bridge]

**Pronounce in the vernacular: "foot".

It's just a bit of fun! The tunes are shown below and if instruments are
playing they can improvise the fairly obvious harmonies or you can write out a
complete score for your group.

:

Verses 1 and 2 (words for verse 1 are shown): This is the basic tune.

If you have instruments (a tuba would be good!) you could add an intro:

and in the middle line of the tune after 'head to toe' give the voices a two bar rest and have the instrument(s) play:

Then leave a few bars rest or create an instrumental between the verses. Use the same pattern for verses 1 & 2.

:

Verse 3 is different, it has two extra lines to introduce the spooky bit. Depending on your age group
the chromatic stuff in the third line could be well out of tune but it doesn't matter just as long as they build
up to a frightful shout on 'fright'. If the tempo at the beginning is quite lively (crotchet=120) then you can slow
down over line 3 and give them a good long laugh after 'fright'. Here is the verse 3 tune:

Again rest the voices in the second line of music, after 'in the ground':

and finish off with an instrumental: