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The Resurrectionist

Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 2006
Original album - Format
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - Fundamental 2017 reissue Further Listening 2005-2007 bonus disc
Other releases - bonus track with single "I'm with Stupid"

At one time mentioned for possible inclusion on Fundamental, Neil and Chris later decided to make this truly outstanding synth-rocking track a bonus on the first single from that album, "I'm with Stupid." As with "Girls Don't Cry," they were still working on it as late as mid-February 2006. It was inspired, according to Neil, by Sarah Wise's 2004 book The Italian Boy: Murder and Graverobbing in 1830s London, itself based on an actual historical criminal case. The song takes its title from a darkly humorous nickname given to nineteenth-century graverobbers who supplied medical schools with cadavers: "resurrectionists."

Neil's lyrics assume that same darkly humorous tone, reveling in perverse wordplay, including some rather macabre puns. For example, when two gentlemen in the same trade talk shop, the narrator notes, "We talked the same body language." The chorus concludes with the recurring flawed but nonetheless apt couplet:

We all gotta earn ourselves a living
All it takes is a little bit of digging

Elsewhere "a handsome lad lay in a Hansom cab." And, at the end, the best/worst of them all:

We don't bring them back to life
But we do bring them back from the dead

Now, how many other contemporary musical acts would have dared to write and release a song on such a perversely fascinating subject? Or, for that matter, would have even thought of it?

Annotations

As noted above, this song was inspired by Sarah Wise's 2004 book The Italian Boy: Murder and Graverobbing in 1830s London, which told the story of an real-life criminal case of the period. The term "resurrectionist" is a historically accurate slang word for Victorian-era graverobbers who supplied medical schools with cadavers.
The lyrics include other examples of obscure nineteenth-century slang as well, such as "punter" (a man who frequents brothels) and "fogle hunter" (a thief specializing in silk handkerchiefs—there must have been a much bigger market for that sort of thing back then than there is today). Actually, the word "punter" is still used in British slang today, but has taken on a different, far less negative meaning, referring to potential customers of any business.
"A handsome lad lay in a Hansom cab" – The horsedrawn Hansom cab was a common form of public transportation in Victorian London. It was named for its inventor, Joseph Hansom of New York. Lighter, faster, and in many ways safer than previous horsedrawn carriages, their use quickly spread following their introduction in the mid-1830s. Although Hansom cabs were found in many European and American cities, they proved especially popular in London and remained so until the early 1900s, when they were replaced by automobiles. A few remain in use today, however, for purposes related to history and tourism. As for the line itself, "A handsome lad lay in a Hansom cab," I'm not sure what technical name to call that type of wordplay (it's not really a pun, is it?) aside from simply brilliant.
The song is replete with geographical references to Victorian London. In fact, with the help of a couple of my site visitors, I'm able to provide a very simple map showing the relative locations of most of the places referred to in the song:
- "Crossing Blackfriars Bridge to Guy's" – Blackfriars Bridge (usually spelled without the apostrophe) crosses the River Thames in London. It has been in place there since 1769, although it was completely rebuilt with the present bridge exactly a century later, in 1869. Originally named after Prime Minister William Pitt, it nevertheless became popularly known as Blackfriars after a nearby monastery, and this informal name was eventually adopted formally. "Guy's" refers to Guy's Hospital, part of King's College London School of Medicine. Established in 1721, it was named for its founder, philanthropist Thomas Guy. As a teaching hospital, it would have been a natural customer for a resurrectionist.
- "Then back to Barts for a better price" – Barts (again, usually spelled without the apostrophe) was and still is a common nickname for London's St. Bartholomew's Hospital. It dates as far back as the twelfth century, although a medical college was established there in 1843, thereby placing it in "competition" with Guy's.
- "I met a man down Thieving Lane" – "Thieving Lane" was a popular nickname for Bow Street. There are two theories as to the origin of the nickname: (1) on account of the criminal nature of many of its habitués and (2) because authorities often used it as a circuitous route to the nearest prision as opposed to a more direct route that would take felons directly past a cathedral where, if they were able to break free long enough to enter its confines, they would have to be given sanctuary.
- "On Newgate Street we saw a hanging" – Newgate Street led from one of the historic gates to the city of London. This gate eventually became the entrance to Newgate Prison, which in the Victorian Era was London's chief prison and the frequent site for public hangings (until public executions were banned in London in 1868).
- "At the King of Denmark and the Fortune of War" – Two popular London pubs of the period that were, on account of their proximity to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, notorious watering holes for resurrectionists. It appears to be a matter of speculation and debate as to when they may have closed or even if they or their successors (perhaps under different names) are still open. Since it would add nothing to our understanding of the song, that's not a subject I'm interested in pursuing any further.

Mixes/Versions

Officially released

Mixer: Goetz Botzenhardt
- "I'm with Stupid" CD single bonus track (3:12)
  - Also on the "Further Listening" bonus disc accompanying the 2017 Fundamental reissue
- Goetz B. Extended Mix (5:42)
  - Available on the "I'm with Stupid" DVD single

List cross-references

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