Skelton Bones

Down in the crypt where the caskets lie And dust stirs up when trucks go by Giggling sounds, not moans and groans From the tomb of Skelton Bones When the trucks go by no more No light peeks beneath the door Bony feet on an ice cold floor Skelton Bones inspects his claw Skelton Bones was a pirate, old Sailed the seas in search of gold His right hand by a dragon took Now its claw is Skelton’s hook Once, he’d dressed in silk and cotton Skelton’s clothes are long since rotten All that’s left, a belt and buckle And his hat which makes him chuckle He’s Skelton Bones; a pirate, nude But not intentionally rude He says, “Ahoy!” in pirate tones That’s the sound of Skelton Bones But now he has a yen to be Once more sailing ’pon the sea Been too long; three hundred years Skelton calls his buccaneers When the door creaks open wide Ghostly pirates lurk outside But with no seas to sail nearby Skelton’s ship takes to the sky Hear that Jolly Roger flap? Or the canon hatches clap? Keep a firm hand on your riches Or he’ll steal them… and your britches And as he rides the clouds and skies A crew, undead, that never dies In Skelton’s wake the east wind wails It’s in his bones and in his sails