Roon-Moo'ed Spade, The

DESCRIPTION: "Geordie Mill wi' his roon moo'ed spade Is wishin' aye for mair fouk deid," because he hopes to sell the bodies to anatomists. When a porter brings a casket to his door, Geordie and Robbie set out to sell a body. Robbie eventually repents
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1923 (A. H. Miller, Haunted Dundee, according to Gatherer-SongsAndBalladsOfDundee)
KEYWORDS: burial trick corpse humorous money
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gatherer-SongsAndBalladsOfDundee 8, "The Roon-Moo'ed Spade" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #22216
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Black Cook" (subject: sale of dead bodies for anatomical studies)
cf. "Burke's Confession" (subject: sale of dead bodies for anatomical studies)
NOTES [45 words]: The sale of bodies was depressingly common in Scotland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; doctors wanted them to demonstrate anatomy. For background on this, see especially "The Black Cook"; for the so-called "anatomist murders," see "Burke's Confession." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.5
File: Gath008

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