Bones and Groans

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Now shake dem skeleton bones! The toe bone's connected to the foot bone, The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone, The ankle bone's connected to the leg bone, Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, Now shake dem skeleton bones!

This song that I learned sometime during grammar school could now be my wake up chant.

Oh! Groan, Oh! Groan, dem dry bones!

Now, as we approach Halloween, we all begin to see human skeletons appear in yard displays in various humorous positions.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones!

So when did the sight of a human skeleton become so frightening?

The time when the depiction of a human skull first symbolized death is ancient and debatable. The portrayal extends back at least to the early Christian era. A tabletop mosaic discovered at Pompeii depicts a human skull positioned beneath a carpenter’s square and plumb bob, which together represented death—the great leveler. By the next century, skulls and crossed thigh bones began showing up on catacomb crypts in Italy. Several hundred years later, Crusader knights adopted the skull and crossbones for their banners, perhaps co-opting the symbol—one of ferocity and gravity—from pirates cruising the nearby Mediterranean.

By the Middle Ages, skeletons began conveying messages of remembrance. Funeral art and architectural detail included stone carvings of skulls. Paintings on canvas soon followed, and these stark messages became known as memento mori (remember that you must die).

"Skull With A Burning Cigarette"-Van Gogh

The bottom line is that bones are unique and generate a sense of Halloween delight in bone lovers. For others, bones are at least worthy of amazement and esteem, now and throughout the year. Are bones frightful? Maybe 2000 years ago, but not anymore, even if you see some plastic replicas pushing through your neighbor’s lawn. Happy Halloween.

-Roy A. Meals, MD

Dem bones, Oh! Groan, dem dry bones!

CPW

P.S.

Dem bones, Oh! Groan, dem dry bones!

Bm Bm, Bm Bm, Bm.. bm Bm.