religious hat goes back on for Sydney Carter
I apologize for getting my religious hat on again so soon after last time, but I can't help it. A side-effect of yuletide is that I spend a lot of time pondering my other fics, and it occurred to me that the Good Friday verse of "Lord of the Dance" might fit the SPN/JoA story, as title or quotation or something else. (Songs: the lifeboat for the title impaired.) This, in turn, made me think of how much Sydney Carter and his ilk have meant for my view of Christianity: the charity, the doubts, the mix between the very human and the utterly divine. And that's something I want to share. :-)
So here's a post of Sydney Carter lyrics, for your enjoyment.
Lord of the Dance
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.
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.
I danced for the scribe
and the pharisee,
but they would not dance
and they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
for James and John -
they came with me
and the dance went on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
I danced on the Sabbath
and I cured the lame;
the holy people
said it was a shame.
they whipped and they stripped
and they hung me on high,
and they left me there
on a Cross to die.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
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
and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the Dance,
and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
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.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
The Devil Wore a Crucifix
The devil wore a crucifix.
"The Christians they are right,"
the Devil said, "so let us burn
a heretic tonight."
A heretic tonight.
The stars and stripes or swastika,
The crescent or a star,*
the Devil he can wear them all
no matter what they are.
No matter what they are.
In red or blue or khaki,
in green or black and tan,
The Devil is a patriot,
a proper party man.
A proper party man.
Whenever there's a lynching,
the Devil will be there.
A witch or an apostle,
the Devil doesn't care.
The Devil doesn't care.
He'll beat a drum in China.
He'll beat it in the West.
He'll beat a drum for anyone:
”A Holy War is best.
A Holy War is best.”
The Devil isn't down in hell
or riding in the sky.
The Devil's dead (I've heard it said)
- they're telling you a lie!
They're telling you a lie!
* In some versions, it says, ”A lily or a swastika, a shamrock or a star”, but really, who wears a lily these days?
Son of Man
If you are a son of man
You wonder where you're going,
And what will happen when you die -
There is no way of knowing.
They talk about a heaven
And they talk about a hell,
But whether they are right or not
No son of man can tell.
But if I were the son of God,
And if they crucified me,
I'd think that I was luckier
Than those who hung beside me.
I'd know that I would rise again,
And all things would be well;
But when you are a son of man,
However can you tell?
If you are a son of man
Then you can be mistaken;
You hang upon a cross of doubt,
You feel you are forsaken.
And whether you will rise again
Is more than you can tell;
And if you were the son of man
You've tasted this as well.
When I Needed a Neighbor
When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter
Were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was...
I was cold, I was naked, were you there, were you there?
I was...
When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I...
When I needed a healer, were you there, were you there?
When I...
When they put me in prison, were you there, were you there?
When they...
Wherever you travel, I'll be there, I'll be there
Wherever you travel, I'll be there
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter
I'll be there
Judas and Mary
Said Judas to Mary, ”Now what will you do
with your ointment so rich and so rare?”
”I'll pour it all over the feet of the Lord
and I'll wipe it away with my hair,” she said,
”Wipe it away with my hair.”
”Oh Mary, oh Mary, oh think of the poor!
This ointment, it could have been sold.
And think of the blankets and think of the bread
you could buy with the silver and gold,” he said,
”Buy with the silver and gold.”
”Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll think of the poor,
tomorrow,” she said, ”not today;
for dearer than all of the poor in the world
is my love who is going away,” she said,
”My love who is going away.”
Said Jesus to Mary, ”Your love is so deep
today you may do as you will.
Tomorrow you say I am going away,
but my body I leave with you still,” he said,
”My body I leave with you still.”
”The poor of the world are my body,” he said,
”to the end of the world they shall be.
The bread and the blankets you give to the poor
you'll know you have given to me,” he said,
”Know you have given to me.”
”My body will hang on the cross of the world
tomorrow,” he said, ”and today,
and Martha and Mary will find me again
and wash all the sorrow away,” he said,
”Wash all the sorrow away.”
The Bird of Heaven
Catch the bird of heaven,
Lock him in a cage of gold;
Look again tomorrow,
And he will be gone.
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Follow where the bird has gone;
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Keep on travelling on.
Lock him in religion,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh
Carry to his prison,
But he will be gone.
Temple made of marble,
Beak and feather made of gold.
All the bells are ringing,
But the bird has gone.
Bell and book and candle
Cannot hold him any more,
For the bird is flying
As he did before.
Googling for the lyrics of these songs, I found a bunch of other beautiful ones as well, noticeably at this page here. Do go look if you've found these lyrics interesting!
So here's a post of Sydney Carter lyrics, for your enjoyment.
Lord of the Dance
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.
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.
I danced for the scribe
and the pharisee,
but they would not dance
and they wouldn't follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
for James and John -
they came with me
and the dance went on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
I danced on the Sabbath
and I cured the lame;
the holy people
said it was a shame.
they whipped and they stripped
and they hung me on high,
and they left me there
on a Cross to die.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
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
and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the Dance,
and I still go on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
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.
Dance, then, wherever you may be...
The Devil Wore a Crucifix
The devil wore a crucifix.
"The Christians they are right,"
the Devil said, "so let us burn
a heretic tonight."
A heretic tonight.
The stars and stripes or swastika,
The crescent or a star,*
the Devil he can wear them all
no matter what they are.
No matter what they are.
In red or blue or khaki,
in green or black and tan,
The Devil is a patriot,
a proper party man.
A proper party man.
Whenever there's a lynching,
the Devil will be there.
A witch or an apostle,
the Devil doesn't care.
The Devil doesn't care.
He'll beat a drum in China.
He'll beat it in the West.
He'll beat a drum for anyone:
”A Holy War is best.
A Holy War is best.”
The Devil isn't down in hell
or riding in the sky.
The Devil's dead (I've heard it said)
- they're telling you a lie!
They're telling you a lie!
* In some versions, it says, ”A lily or a swastika, a shamrock or a star”, but really, who wears a lily these days?
Son of Man
If you are a son of man
You wonder where you're going,
And what will happen when you die -
There is no way of knowing.
They talk about a heaven
And they talk about a hell,
But whether they are right or not
No son of man can tell.
But if I were the son of God,
And if they crucified me,
I'd think that I was luckier
Than those who hung beside me.
I'd know that I would rise again,
And all things would be well;
But when you are a son of man,
However can you tell?
If you are a son of man
Then you can be mistaken;
You hang upon a cross of doubt,
You feel you are forsaken.
And whether you will rise again
Is more than you can tell;
And if you were the son of man
You've tasted this as well.
When I Needed a Neighbor
When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter
Were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was...
I was cold, I was naked, were you there, were you there?
I was...
When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I...
When I needed a healer, were you there, were you there?
When I...
When they put me in prison, were you there, were you there?
When they...
Wherever you travel, I'll be there, I'll be there
Wherever you travel, I'll be there
And the creed and the colour and the name won't matter
I'll be there
Judas and Mary
Said Judas to Mary, ”Now what will you do
with your ointment so rich and so rare?”
”I'll pour it all over the feet of the Lord
and I'll wipe it away with my hair,” she said,
”Wipe it away with my hair.”
”Oh Mary, oh Mary, oh think of the poor!
This ointment, it could have been sold.
And think of the blankets and think of the bread
you could buy with the silver and gold,” he said,
”Buy with the silver and gold.”
”Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll think of the poor,
tomorrow,” she said, ”not today;
for dearer than all of the poor in the world
is my love who is going away,” she said,
”My love who is going away.”
Said Jesus to Mary, ”Your love is so deep
today you may do as you will.
Tomorrow you say I am going away,
but my body I leave with you still,” he said,
”My body I leave with you still.”
”The poor of the world are my body,” he said,
”to the end of the world they shall be.
The bread and the blankets you give to the poor
you'll know you have given to me,” he said,
”Know you have given to me.”
”My body will hang on the cross of the world
tomorrow,” he said, ”and today,
and Martha and Mary will find me again
and wash all the sorrow away,” he said,
”Wash all the sorrow away.”
The Bird of Heaven
Catch the bird of heaven,
Lock him in a cage of gold;
Look again tomorrow,
And he will be gone.
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Follow where the bird has gone;
Ah! the bird of heaven!
Keep on travelling on.
Lock him in religion,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh
Carry to his prison,
But he will be gone.
Temple made of marble,
Beak and feather made of gold.
All the bells are ringing,
But the bird has gone.
Bell and book and candle
Cannot hold him any more,
For the bird is flying
As he did before.
Googling for the lyrics of these songs, I found a bunch of other beautiful ones as well, noticeably at this page here. Do go look if you've found these lyrics interesting!