The "Gory, Gory, Cave Explorers" song was a perennial favorite. I've found several versions in "The Spelunker's Songbook," edited by Janet Bailey and published by the Pittsburgh Grotto in December 1964. It is, of course, sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. There are no doubt additional versions; those below don't include what Louise recalls.
I have not attempted to correct the spelling mistakes made by the OCR program. They should all be obvious. Sorry about the spacing of this message. Pasting from a Word file into an e-mail message turns returns into double returns. Anyone wanting to print these songs might save this e-mail as a text file and then use his handy word-processing program to replace double returns by single returns. -- Bill Mixon ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THEY AIN'T GONNA CAVE NO MORE Denman T. Snow & Marshall Fausold Georgia Spelunker [issue not stated] page 17 in the songbook In a dark and dreary cavern on a cold winter's day, He made the great mistake that took his life away. He should have been more careful but instead he chose to play, An' he ain'f gonna cave no more. Chorus;Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, Ah at a he I I of a way to die, An' he ain't gonna cave no more. "Can you make it to the high ledge?" called the belayer from be low. Our hero feebly answered "Yes", and upward inched on slow, He was trying to drive a piton when his hold began to go, An' he ain't gonna cave no more. He shot right down the chimney and he quickly gathered speed; He shot past his belayer who'd forgot the climber's speed; An anchor to a piton would've been a I I he'd ever need, An' he ain't gonna cave no more. The belayer felt the rope pull taut, and tried to let it run; But it jerked him for position, and he knew that he was done. He left the ledge behind him and he couldn't help it none, An ' they ain't gonna cave no more. They sped on down the chimney that was so very ta I I. The pit it was so fearful deep it made a glorious fall; They slithered over a friction pitch and sped on down the wall, An' they ain't gonna cave no more. The days they'd lived and loved and laughed keptrynning through their minds; They thought about the girls back home, the ones they'd left behind; They thought about their comrades, too, and wondered what they'd find, An.' they ain't gonna cave no more. One had-the rope about his neck, the pitons through his spleen; The other had no hard hat, so of course he split his bean; Two trails of red marked their descent as they made the final scene; An' they ain't gonna cave no more. They hit the floor, the sound was splat, the blood went spurting high; Their comrades they were heard to say, "What a colorful way to die." And as they lay there one was heard to make his final sigh, An' they ain't gonna cave no more. There was blood upon the rucksacks, there were brains upon the rope; Intestines were entwined across the rough and rocky slope; We poured them in a Gurnee Can while coiling up the rope, An' we ain't gonna cave no more! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GORY, GORY, CAVE EXPLORERS Barb Massee Windy City Speleonews 2(1)2, reprinted Speleo Digest 1962 page 18 in the songbook "Can you go around the flowstone?" called the belayer looking up Out hero feebly answered "yes" and slowly inched on up He was trying to drive a piton when his foothold crumbled out Oh, he ain't gonna Cave no more. Chorus:Gory, gory who t a hell of a way to die (3 times) Oh, he ain't gonna cave no more. He slid right down the domepit and he quickly gathered speed He shot past the belayer who'd forgot the climbers creed An anchor to a piton wouldve been all he'd ever need Oh, he ain't gonna cave no more. The belayer felt the rope pull taut and tried to let it run But it jerked him from position and he knew his time had come He left the ledge behind him and it shot up toward the sun Oh, he ain't gonna cave no more. The days they'd lived and loved and laughed kept running thru their minds They thought about the girls back home, the ones they'd left behind They thought about the others, too, and wondered what they'd find Oh, they ain't gonna cave no more. They brushed against formations and the blood went spurting high Their comrades were heard to say "What a colorful way to die. " They wished that they had never come or that they h ad learned to fly Oh, they ain't gonna cave no more. They sped on down the domepit and they landed with a SPLAT One had the rope around his neck and pitons in his back They made a lovely pictured, red and green and white and black Oh, they ain't gonna cave no more. There was blood upon the rucksacks, there was blood upon the rope Bits and pieces were entwined across the dark and rocky w1ope We put them in a lunchpoi I after salvaging the rope. Oh,they ain't gonna cave no more. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GORY, GORY, NO. 4 (Somewhat revised, for decency's sake) [by the songbook editor] A. Nanny Moose with Carol Eckel Nittany Grotto News, June 1961 page 35 in the songbook Five happy clods went caving on a bright and sunny day, They'd never seen a cove before; their step was light and gay, They'd never have believed it if they'd heard somebody say, They ain't gonna cove no more. Chorus:Gory, gory, cove explorers Gory, gory, cave explorers, Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die, They ain't gonna cave no more. The lady wore red dungarees, the cave to navigate, She cut across a former's field, its tragic to relate, She saw the bu I I a'coming, but by then it was too late, She airit gonna cave no more. Once in the cove, the leader said, "It's safe as it can be, I'll lead the way - be sure that al I you others stick with me! A chockstone tumbled - now our hero's split up into three, He ain't gonna cove no more. The second chap got out his rope and called for a belay, He knew the rope was old, but check it? "No, Ywill be OK," The frayed rope parted, and these final words they heard him say, "I ain't gonna cove no more. " One fellow climbed a rocky wall upon the top to sit, His friends turned round in time to see him fall into a pit, They waited and they listened, but they never heard him hit, He ain't gonna cove no more. The last man left of all the five, beset by fear and doubt, Prepared to leave, but couldn't find the passage leading out, He's there today, and cavers say they still can hear him shout "I ain't qonna cove no more. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ GORY, GORY CAVE EXPLORERS (A Ballad of Covers & Caving in five parts) no author stated The Underground, vol ? no. 1 (1961) pages 36-39 in the songbook CHORUS: Gory, gory cove explorers Gory, gory cove explorers Gory, gory what a hell-of-a-way to die, They ain't gonna spelunk no more. FIRST SAD TALE The diver standing by his side Told him he'd go down first Black water closed in all around He got ready for the worst He was trying to force the siphon When his air hose suddenly burst He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) There was no room to turn around, and The current was too strong He hoped soon to come up for air But the siphon was too long. His companion swam to help him out But his timing was al I wrong. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) The diver ahead had disappeared The rope was now al I slack Discouraged he turned upstream And fought the current back He had five minutes of air left When his foot wedged in a crack He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) SECOND SAD TALE "Can you go around the flowstone? Called the belayer, looking up, Our hero feebly answered, "yes" And slowly inched on up He was trying to drive a piton When his foothold crumbled out; He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) He slid right down the chimney And he quickly gathered speed He shot past the beloyer Who'd forgotten the cover's creed An anchor to a piton Would've been al I he'd ever need. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) The belayer felt the rope pull taut And tried to let it run But it jerked him from position And he knew his time had come. He left the ledge behind him And the long descent had begun. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) The days they'd lived and loved and laughed Kept running through their minds They thought about the girls back home - The ones they'd left behind. They thought of their companions too And wondered what they'd find. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) They hit the side, their lights went out, Darkness closed in all around They sped on toward their destiny The ever nearing ground. Their impact echoed through the shaft And then came not a sound. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) THIRD SAD TALE The lead man called out "Breakdown! And he backed against the wal I Four others quickly followed suit But the fifth ignored his call. There were five beneath the overhang But they never saw it at a I I They ain't gonna spelunk no more. The lead man was the first to go. Then come the other four. The fifth heard his companions screams. Though muffled in the roar. He was the one survivor When the ceiling hit the floor. They ain't gonna cove no more. (Chorus) He stood there gripped with horror With a wide and wild-eyed stare The dust and silt rose upward Dissipating in the air. A moment ago they were a I I a I ive, Now his friends were no longer there. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) FOURTH SAD TALE One brave spelunker left the rest Went wandering about And he was doing fine until His carbide lamp went out He yelled and screamed, but there was No one there to hear his shout. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) And wondering how to get out of The plight that he'd got in He crept on a ledge above a pit� A ledge so very thin That al I at once he missed a step And slipped and fell right in He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) Down from the ledge he fell, way down Into a pool of ICK And as he slowly sank he thought The mud was mighty thick Alas, the mud was quicksand in which He'll forever stick. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) FIFTH SAD TALE Six veteran explorers Preparing to survey Brought along their compass For they planned to spend the day Mapping every blasted foot Of every passageway. But they ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) They'd been through many caves before Of almost every size To them, this one seemed safe enough But in that, they weren't too wise For when it rained this cave's stream Had a tendency to rise. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) At t i mes they waded through the stream Which was then 3 feet deep They clambered over pitches Which for them weren't very steep And for the sake of science Through bat guano they did creep. But they ain't gonna cove no more. (Chorus) A sudden rainstorm broke, and soon The entrance siphoned out The bats, sensing the danger Began to fly about Then one observing cover Warned the others with a shout But they ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) They dropped all their equipment And they headed for high ground They climbed as high as they could go And then a ledge they found And there they clung for dear life As the stream rose al I around. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) They cowered there together As the stream rose higher still It was now a foot below them And up their spines there ran a chi I I . It crept up post their ankles And the i r boots began to f i I I . They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) One in final desperation Left the other five. He dove in toward the siphon In an effort to survive. He knew it was his only chance Of getting out alive. But he ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) He knew he wouldn't have a light But still he went ahead He groped through submerged passageways Which to salvation led I think he would have made it If he hadn't lost his head. He ain't gonna spelunk no more. The other five stood on the ledge They had no place to run They saw their lamps extinguished By the water one by one As if splashed against the ceiling They all knew their time had come. They ain't gonna spelunk no more. (Chorus) ----------------------- You may "Reply" to the address from which this message was sent, but note the following permanent addresses for long-term use: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org, sa...@amcs-pubs.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
