Lord of the Dance
=================
w&m: 9th cent. Shaker tune
adapted by Sydney Carter, 1963; harm. by Gary Alan Smith, 1988
Meter: Irr. with refrain

[Verse 1]
I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth.
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

[Refrain]
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
and I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.

[Verse 2]
I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
but they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fisherman, for James and John;
they came to me and the dance went on.

[Refrain]

[Verse 3]
I danced on the sabbath when I cured the lame,
the holy people said it was a shame;
they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
and they left me there on a cross to die.

[Refrain]

[Verse 4]
I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
it's hard to dance with the devil on your back;
they buried my body and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the dance and I still go on.

[Refrain]

[Verse 5]
They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that'll never, never die;
I'll live in you if you'll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

[Refrain]