Incarnadined Hands - Exhumed

«But woe to the riches and skill thus obtained

Woe to the wretch that would injure the dead

And woe go his portion whose fingers are stained

With the red drops of life that he cruelly shed» — ​Ballad of William Burke

​circa 1829

«the receiver of these sixteen strangled bodies been punishable as well as the

murderer, the crimes, which have cast a stain on the character of the nation

and of human nature, would not have been committed» — Thomas Wakely ​The

Lancet​ newspaper 21s​ t​ March, 1829

Dr. Knox: ​What is a man?

Is he the sum of his beliefs?

Or is he measured by the depths of his misdeeds?

Is he but flesh and bone?

The sum of component parts?

Is he what he has wrought?

Or what he has torn apart?

Hare: ​Our abhorrent enterprise, so deeply despised

But evidence, I’ll provide, to spare my own hide

Hare: ​I'll send Burke to his grave

To be betrayed​ ​by incarnadined hands

Dr. Knox: ​Am I a butcher uncouth?

The telltale truth​ ​are these incarnadined hands

Dr. Knox: ​Am I a slaughterer or a surgeon?

A taker or giver of life?

Hare: ​A thief or a murderer?

For which crime am I to be tried?

Dr. Knox: ​So many I’ve anatomized, truly I was desensitized I never failed to

edify, ​Hare:​ nor to brutalize

Dr. Knox: ​The stain of the grave

I am betrayed by incarnadined hands

Burke: ​The meager length of the noose

The punishment due for incarnadined hands

Dr. Knox: ​Please tell me who I am — Please tell me who I am!

Solo — Michael Burke

Dr. Knox: ​What is a man?

Is he the end or is he the means?

Burke: ​For lucre’s gleam, undertaking hideous misdeeds

Dr. Knox: ​I once thought I knew, but now I see it true

When you look into death, it looks back into you

Dr. Knox: ​The stain of the grave

I am betrayed​ ​by incarnadined hands

Burke: ​The meager length of the noose

The punishment due​ ​for incarnadined hands

Dr. Knox / Hare: ​Please tell me who I am