Lyrics for Lord of the Dance
I danced on the morning when the world began
I danced in the moon and the stars and the Sun
I came out of Heaven and I danced on the Earth
In Bethlehem I had my birth
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he.
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees;
They would not dance and they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on.
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on a Sabbath and I cured the lame;
The holy people thought it was a shame.
They cut me, they stripped me, and they hung me high
And left me there on a cross to die.
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black
It's hard to dance with the Devil on your back
They buried my body, but I'd gone...
I am the dance and I still go on
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
Well they cut me down but I lept up high
I am the light that will never, never die
I live in you and you live in me...
I am the lord of the dance, said he
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all wherever you may be...
And I lead you all in the dance, said he
There is a young lady in the a cappella group, Voces8, a choral group I delight in listening to, who is quite lovely. She’s the tallest female singer in the group and has a beautiful soprano voice. She also has brown eyes and long dark hair that frames her high cheek bones and lovely face. I confess that my mind sometimes wanders from the music to her, for which of course I am deeply ashamed.
In any case having heard the song, The Lord of the Dance, sung in a college choir concert recently, I started thinking about how the feminine version of the song might work. Though honestly the feminine version should focus the Virgin Mary since the male version is Christ, nonetheless my imagination went in another direction and I wrote a poem (sort of) that a friend and I rather liked. As I went to copy it from my notes to Squarespace, I accidentally hit cut instead of copy. There is a button to retrieve such accidentally lost items and I hit it only to discover that my finger had accidentally hit the letter V after the cut; consequently, when I hit the return button all I got was “V.” I of course was sick since the absolutely best work that I had ever written was gone forever. Sigh. I tried to remember the verses, but couldn’t though I did manage an approximation of sorts, nowhere as brilliant as the lost version, but here it is anyway. The idea is the same and the rhythm of the verses almost always reflects the rhythm of the original song. Just in case you noticed it coming through in places. My lines are all 10 syllables (a poor man’s iambic pentameter here and there). Still, I kind of like this poor thing even if it isn’t as good as the lost version. It occurs to me that my experience with the original mirrors the action in the verses that follow, one loss reflecting another loss. Anyway!
The Faerie Lover
I saw her dancing in the twilight breeze;
Her long dark hair floating free, best to please.
Over the meadow, through the green green grass,
She danced—flowing free, the bright bonny lass.
Refrain:
Dance, dance, wherever you may be;
I am the Queen of the dance, said she.
And I lead you all wherever you may be,
And I lead you all in the dance, said she.
Her form lean and tall, shapely and serene,
She seemed a regal, royal faerie queen.
She moved with grace, dancing toward me at last,
Stealing my heart from my chest as she passed.
Her ruby red lips, begging to be kissed,
I took her in my arms in that pale mist;
I kissed her brow, her lips, her cheeks like snow,
I eased her down to the cool ground below.
What happened next I truly cannot say,
When I awoke she had gone far away,
Leaving a hole where my heart once had been,
A theft that only I could count as sin.
To this day I’ve searched hill and dusky vale,
For a trace of her, all to no avail.
Now I’m lost with an aching, empty breast,
And a yearning for which there is no rest,
No rest.
Refrain:
Dance, dance, wherever you may be;
I am the Queen of the dance, said she.
And I lead you all wherever you may be,
And I lead you all in the dance, said she.
Image: Andrea Haines, the lovely lady from Voces 8. Try their version of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring with Nick Deutsch on oboe.
