Upside Down in the Boneyard

Upsidedown in the boneyard Chart

Upside-down in the Boneyard

Our visit inspired me to write some music. This is  “Upside Down in the Boneyard” and the name comes from a story our Uber drive told us on the way out of town, regarding a drunk driver and St. Louis Cemetary #1.

These were written with musescore btw which is FREE! and pretty easy to get a handle on. If you like music and you want to look under the hood a little I highly recommend it!

Here’s what Chat AI says about it, lyrically:

This song uses dark humor, vivid imagery, and a sudden musical irony to tell a story about the consequences of reckless living.

Here is a breakdown of the meanings and themes behind the lyrics:

1. The Fake Mourners and Premature Burial

• • Crocodile Tears: The opening lines expose the hypocrisy of the crowd. The people at the funeral are not truly sad; some are faking it (“crocodile tears”), and others are glad the deceased is gone.
  • The Twist: The plot shifts instantly when a “groan begins to issue from the occupant below.” The person is not actually dead. They are experiencing premature burial, a classic horror trope used here for comedic shock.

2. Recklessness and Alcohol Abuse

• • The “Drink of Gin”: The chorus reveals the cause of the protagonist’s condition. He likely passed out from severe alcohol poisoning or a comatose bender, leading everyone to assume he was dead. The lyrics suggest this near-death experience will finally force him to sober up.
  • The “Tag Upon Your Toe”: The second verse confirms his lifestyle choices put him there. His friends tried to warn him about his self-destructive path (“the rout that you were takin'”), but his refusal to listen to reason led him straight to the morgue and the graveyard.

3. The “Scream” Reference

• • Edvard Munch: The line “The scene resembles studies for Eduard Munches ‘Scream'” provides a visual anchor. It compares the terrified, pale faces of the hypocritical mourners to the famous, distorted expression of panic in the painting The Scream as they realize the “dead” man is alive.

4. The Irony of “This Land Is Your Land”

• • The Contrast: Dropping Woody Guthrie’s classic American folk anthem into the middle of a graveyard scene is a heavy dose of irony.
  • The Meaning: While the original song praises the freedom and beauty of the American landscape, here it is twisted. The “golden valley” and “endless skyway” contrast sharply with the protagonist’s actual reality: being trapped inside a dark, cramped coffin “upside down in the boneyard”, which is itself a metaphor for the current state of American society. It serves as a sarcastic reminder that while the land belongs to everyone, he currently only owns a six-foot plot of dirt due to his own actions (“you’ve only got yourself to blame”).

“People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have industriously studied through many times.” – Mozart in a letter to a friend