decomposing composers

Beethovens gone, but his music lives on
And Mozart dont go shopping no more
Youll never meet Liszt or Brahms again
And Elgar doesnt answer the door
Schubert and Chopin used to chuckle and laugh
Whilst composing a long symphony
But one hundred and fifty years later
Theres very little of them left to see
The decomposing composers
Theres 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 theyre both six feet underground
The decomposing composers
Theres less of them every year
You can say what you like to Debussy
But theres 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