Mr. Marcel is a gravedigger
As many are elsewhere
But his sleep is elastic
He is a narcoleptic
It isn’t rare that between two clods
He falls asleep right in his boots
That causes no bother except for
The survivors having to return the next day
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a digger?
He has a pointed chin
From sleeping on his pickaxe
And oval shaped eyelids
Heavy as a tombstone
Round here so the rumour goes
Best to plan ahead when you die
But without going into the details
Everything will depend on your size
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a digger?
Since I’ll have to sleep under the heather
Near to the canal
I prefer to know myself in
An artisanal gruyere 1
Me, I want one Mr. Marcel
To dig my plot
Yesterday a general’s widow
Who had believed she had heard rattling 2
Had the grave reopened
All that for a bit of snoring
We must believe that having stripes 3
Gives his wife a long arm 4
It only needed her to deploy it
Mr. Marcel no longer has a job
But you stuck up old bat
For your funeral
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But you stuck up old bat
For your burial
Would you rather one dug
With a digger
Since I’ll have to sleep under the heather
Near to the canal
I prefer to know myself in
An artisanal gruyère
Me, I want a Mr. Marcel
To dig my plot
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a spade
But on balance
If it’s necessary to dig
Would you rather one dug
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
With a digger?
1. This is odd - I think the meaning is he wants a hand-dug plot rather than one made by a machine2. râles - death rattles3. as in military stripes4. has influence