[Intro, spoken]
Here's a weird song about a mummy
It's actually a true story about a man who fell of the train in Dallas Texas
Black man, had one leg, cut the other leg off and died
And uh, so he was mummified
They did that back in 1913 when it happened
And they waited for relatives to come and claim him
But nobody came
And a carnival passed through, and they claimed him
And he toured with the carnival for about 35 years posthumously
It's a true story
So, he was buried in 1973
And I read a little article about him
And I wrote this song
And then a year later whеn the song came out
Uh, a guy steppеd forward and donated a headstone to Andrew McCrew
And so, the fourth verse of this song was carved in granite
And is now at his head
And he became sort of a legendary figure in the black community in Dallas, Texas
Symbolic of the man, the black man who couldn't be killed
And there's a whole other stuff, um about it
Which I can't go into now, it's too complicated
But the song tells the story
And the chorus is easy
If you feel like singing about a mummy, just join right in
[Intro]
There was a mummy at the fair
All crumpled in a folding chair
The people passed but didn't care
That the mummy was a man
So, tell me if you can
[Chorus]
Who are you? Who are you?
Where have you been, where are you goin' to?
Well, Andrew McCrew must have lost his way
'Cause though he died long ago he was buried today
[Verse 1]
Down on Nightmare Alley, where the shady people sway
A hobo came a-hikin' on a salty summer day
Well, he hopped a freight in Dallas, and he rode it out of sight
But on a turn he slipped, and he lost his grip and he fell into the night
[Chorus]
Oh, who are you? Who are you?
Where have you been, where are you goin' to?
Well, Andrew McCrew must have lost his way
'Cause though he died long ago he was buried today
[Verse 2]
Well, Andrew had one leg of wood, the other leg was small
And when he fell off the train that night he found he had no legs at all
Well, they found him in the thicket, and the undertaker came
And they mummified his body for a relative to claim
[Chorus]
Whoa-oh, who are you? Who are you?
Where have you been, where are you goin' to?
Well, Andrew McCrew must have lost his way
'Cause though he died long ago he was buried today
[Verse 3]
But, no one came to claim him, until the carnival passed through
The carnies took him to their tent, and they decided what to do
Well, they dressed him in a worn-out tux, and they put him on a stand
And millions saw the legend called the 'Famous Mummy Man'
[Chorus]
Whoa-oh, who are you? Who are you?
Where have you been, where are you goin' to?
Well, Andrew McCrew must have lost his way
'Cause though he died long ago he was buried today
[Verse 4]
Well, what a way to live a life, and what a way to die
Left to live a living death with no one left to cry
Petrified amazement, a wonder beyond words
A man who found more life in death than life gave him at birth
[Chorus]
Oh, who are you? Who are you?
Where have you been, where are you goin' to?
Well, Andrew McCrew must have lost his way
'Cause though he died long ago he was buried today
[Verse 5]
But what about the ones who live and wish that they could go
Whose lives are lost to living and performing for the show?
Well, at least you got the best of life until it got the best of you
So, from all of us to what's left of you, farewell, Andrew McCrew