[00:14.57]Beethoven's gone, but his music lives on
[00:17.30]And Mozart don't go shopping no more
[00:20.80]You'll never meet Liszt or Brahms again
[00:24.40]And Elgar doesn't answer the door
[00:27.87]Schubert and Chopin used to chuckle and laugh
[00:30.97]Whilst composing a long symphony
[00:34.22]But one hundred and fifty years later
[00:37.57]There's very little of them left to see
[00:41.49]The decomposing composers
[00:44.69]There's nothing much anyone can do
[00:48.55]You can still hear Beethoven
[00:51.54]But Beethoven cannot hear you
[01:10.34]Handel and Haydn and Rachmaninoff
[01:13.74]Enjoyed a nice drink with their meal
[01:17.39]But nowadays no one will serve them
[01:21.05]And the gravy is left to congeal
[01:25.25]Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
[01:28.57]With a highly original sound
[01:32.09]The pianos they played are still working
[01:36.00]But they're both six feet underground
[01:40.76]The decomposing composers
[01:43.73]There's less of them every year
[01:47.06]You can say what you like to Debussy
[01:50.98]But there's not much of him left to hear
[01:55.33]Claude Achile Debussy, died 1918
[02:01.44]Christoph Willibald Gluck, died 1787
[02:07.33]Carl Maria von Weber, not at all well, 1825; died 1826
[02:15.82]Giacomo Meyerbeer, still alive 1863; not still alive 1864
[02:24.04]Modest Mussorgsky, 1880 going to parties; no fun anymore, 1881
[02:32.80]Johann Nepomuk Hummel, chattin' away 19 and a dozen with his mates down at the pub every evening 1836; 1837, nothing

Beethoven's gone, but his music lives on
And Mozart don't go shopping no more
You'll never meet Liszt or Brahms again
And Elgar doesn't answer the door
Schubert and Chopin used to chuckle and laugh
Whilst composing a long symphony
But one hundred and fifty years later
There's very little of them left to see
The decomposing composers
There's nothing much anyone can do
You can still hear Beethoven
But Beethoven cannot hear you
Handel and Haydn and Rachmaninoff
Enjoyed a nice drink with their meal
But nowadays no one will serve them
And the gravy is left to congeal
Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
With a highly original sound
The pianos they played are still working
But they're both six feet underground
The decomposing composers
There's less of them every year
You can say what you like to Debussy
But there's not much of him left to hear
Claude Achile Debussy, died 1918
Christoph Willibald Gluck, died 1787
Carl Maria von Weber, not at all well, 1825; died 1826
Giacomo Meyerbeer, still alive 1863; not still alive 1864
Modest Mussorgsky, 1880 going to parties; no fun anymore, 1881
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, chattin' away 19 and a dozen with his mates down at the pub every evening 1836; 1837, nothing