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March 16, 2004
Rest In Peace
Let's see where we stand on the past week's referenda on 60's religious-tinged culture:
Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Guilty pleasure.
Illustrations in the Good News Bible I never said, but yes, I liked them.
The Lord of the Dance With all due respect to its composer, who just passed away......boy, do I cringe at this one.
I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on
I lead you all in the dance, said he ...
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high
Left me there on the cross to die
...I danced on a Friday when the world turned black
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on
Right up there with Let There Be Peace on Earth
Why? Why? Why?
The number's success stems from two elements. It has a lively, catchy tune, adapted from an air of the American Shaker movement. But the optimistic lines "I danced in the morning when the world begun/ and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun" also contain a hint of paganism which, mixed with Christianity, makes it attractive to those of ambiguous religious beliefs or none at all.Carter himself genially admitted that he had been partly inspired by the statue of Shiva which sat on his desk; and, whenever he was asked to resolve the contradiction, he would declare that he had never tried to do so.
However, he admitted to being as astonished as anyone by its success. "I did not think the churches would like it at all. I thought many people would find it pretty far flown, probably heretical and anyway dubiously Christian. But in fact people did sing it and, unknown to me, it touched a chord. . .
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» Dance of the Simple Gifts from How Now, Brownpau?
So I mentioned last night that I have a bit of a problem with Sydney Carter's Lord of the Dance. It's a petty problem. But... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 13, 2004 11:57:51 AM
» Dance of the Simple Gifts from How Now, Brownpau?
So I mentioned last night that I have a bit of a problem with Sydney Carter's Lord of the Dance. It's a petty problem. But... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 13, 2004 12:27:30 PM
» Dance of the Simple Gifts from How Now, Brownpau?
So I mentioned last night that I have a bit of a problem with Sydney Carter's Lord of the Dance. It's a petty problem. But... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 13, 2004 12:38:54 PM
Comments
When I was a college student, the folk group (with clanging guitars) sang "Lord of the Dance" at the Good Friday service...it sounded out of place even in the 70's.
Posted by: Lynn at Mar 16, 2004 11:49:59 PM
Actually, I like the song. I don't see the image of the dance as heretical: what about the dance towards the end of C.S. Lewis' "Perelandra", or the mad chase of Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday"?
I agree that you have to keep it in the context of Christian teaching as a whole.
And I REALLY can't see it on Good Friday.
Posted by: Karen H. at Mar 17, 2004 6:47:25 AM
I went to Catholic school in the 70's and man did we have to sing that song a lot. One nun, Sr. Norah Marie, had us sing really softly and then we had to sing = because I am the dance and the dance lives on - really loud at the end. Yikes!
Nicole
Posted by: Nicole at Mar 17, 2004 6:51:02 AM
I've always hated that song. Fortunately, the musicians at our parish know that our priest can't stand it either.
But he's retiring soon... oh no!
Posted by: meggan at Mar 17, 2004 7:54:22 AM
There's a much older song using the same image that may also have inspired the writer of this one, perhaps unknowingly.
It's the Tudor-era (I think) carol, "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day". It goes (roughly):
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play
To call my true love to my dance.
Chorus:
Sing oh my love, oh my love my love my love:
This have I done for my true love.
There are many other verses; the tune is enchanting.
Anyway, I like "Lord of the Dance". There's a very pseudo-early American version by the folky group The Revels, which I'm especially fond of.
Posted by: alias clio at Mar 17, 2004 8:04:49 AM
Argh! You took me back to the "Family Mass" in the basement of my parish circa 1977. Two guitarists banging away at "Dance, dance.....", nearly drowned out the throbbing of the old organ upstairs in the main church for the "adult Mass."
Fast forward to 2004 when the children's choir broke out with "Let there be peace on Earth," my wife glanced over and saw me break out in a cold sweat.
Posted by: Jerry at Mar 17, 2004 8:44:16 AM
The appeal of "Lord of the Dance" is the magnificent melody. The lyrics are cringe-worthy (to use Mark Shea's phrase), but the melody is timeless, and so lovely as to overshadow the dreadful lyrics. It's a beautiful old Shaker melody, as someone else noted...it was also the basis for Aaron Copland's "Simple Gifts," another magnificent piece.
Posted by: Cathleen at Mar 17, 2004 8:45:34 AM
Clarification: the Shaker melody, NOT "Lord of the Dance," was the basis for Aaron Copland's "Simple Gifts"! I think my high school English teacher would take off points for "ambiguous antecedent"....:-)
Posted by: Cathleen at Mar 17, 2004 9:26:27 AM
I loved 'Lord of the Dance' when I was in high school. We used to sing it at Young Life and as a kid I was really taken with the notion that we ought to rejoice and dance over what has been done for us. Still think so, actually.
I have a CD somewhere with 'My Dancing Day' on it. I think it's sung at Christmas and it's another favorite.
I never did like "Let there be peace one earth and wow did we sing that one to death in my catholic school when I was a kid...
Posted by: Mar at Mar 17, 2004 9:37:29 AM
Some Midwestern Pagans actually wrote fully Pagan lyrics to "Lord of the Dance" that used to be sung at science fiction conventions in the 70s.
"Simple Gifts" is the Shaker song. Copeland did an arrangement of it for OLD AMERICAN SONGS and used it as a theme in APPALACHIAN SPRING.
Posted by: Sandra Miesel at Mar 17, 2004 10:18:37 AM
Remember the Ray Repp Golden Oldie, "Sons of God?" I actually saw a copy of a Eucharistic Prayer written for guitar to that melody. There's a nail grater.
One other gem: "Here we are altogether" [as we sing our song joyfully]. I heard one wag refer to this as the "hymn to the obvious."
Posted by: Catherine of Alexandria at Mar 17, 2004 10:22:42 AM
Not to change the subject...but after reading Amy's post about Annie Vallotton (sp?), the illustrator of the Good News Bible, I searched in the internet for postcards or other books with her work. I'd love to find some post-card sized version of her GNB illustrations, but I couldn't find any on the web. Any thoughts?
Posted by: Cris Rapp at Mar 17, 2004 10:28:59 AM
I cannot hear "Lord of the Dance" without getting a mental image of Jesus and the disciples dancing Riverdance-style in a line. I don't know whether I like or dislike the song, but it always makes me have to suppress giggles.
Posted by: Emily at Mar 17, 2004 10:29:20 AM
It's a great song, but not not not for mass. For dancing. No lyrics, just an awesome melody. And I say that as someone who is currently limping from all the shows I'm dancing in this week. I'm probably one of the oldest adult Irish step dancers in the country, a title I'll milk til my feet fall off. Which they are threatening to do these days. But it's one of the best songs ever to slam a hard shoe reel in. And I'm not even Irish!
Posted by: KH at Mar 17, 2004 10:45:25 AM
Peace, all.
The Simple Gifts text is superior, I think. That's the one I was first exposed to in the early 80's, and it still has the strongest association for me, possibly because I had the Copland arrangement in my head first of all.
While I have no strong objection to Carter's text, it's just not a good fit for the tune. If someone were serious, they would compose a new melody. I would really prefer hymnal publishers put the original text back. It's amazing that they don't because the royalties paid for the Carter text (and Let There Be Peace) are at least four times what liturgical publishers charge.
Posted by: Todd at Mar 17, 2004 10:58:42 AM
I never heard of "Lord of the Dance" other than the touring show of recent years, which I have NOT seen. I grew up in the 70s as did many commenters, but never heard it at a mass--or at least it certainly does not jump out at me. Oh, but we'd sure belt out "Let There be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me..." What did we know?!
Posted by: Peggy at Mar 17, 2004 11:15:01 AM
No Joe Wise followers here? "Gonna sing my Lord" (for all that I'm worth)? Anyway it would appear from the comments that we have quite a few, perhaps, unconscious charismatics hiding within a trad's wardrobe here!
Posted by: chris k at Mar 17, 2004 11:33:59 AM
Sandra,
Thanks for the clarification...:-)
Posted by: Cathleen at Mar 17, 2004 11:46:26 AM
Gonna sing my Lord" (for all that I'm worth)?
AAK! I had forgotten about that one!
Posted by: Meggan at Mar 17, 2004 1:25:56 PM
I was just poking around on the internet to see what other Joe Wise gems I had forgotten about and I found the name of one that sounds vaguely familiar. "To Be Your Body"... does anyone remember this one?
Posted by: Meggan at Mar 17, 2004 1:37:25 PM
Well, I vaguely remember (from sitting around with Joe's crowd back in Louisville as a "kid") "And I'm in love with my God .... My God's in love with me. The more I love you, the more I know ... I'm in love with my God: Did you ever see a babe ... My God has and He loves them ... loves them so much He slept in a womb, was born as a Man, learned how to walk, stumbled and fell ... to help us to know how He loves ... My God. And I'm in love with My God, etc." I also remember how everyone thought Joe's bride looked so much like Julie Andrew's Maria!
Posted by: chris k at Mar 17, 2004 3:06:49 PM
Amy, have you ever entertained the idea of having a Bad Hymn Contest (sort of like Dave Barry's Bad Song Contest a few years ago)? I'd be interested to know which atrocity racks up the most votes.
My vote: I have a special aversion to the communion anthem "Song of the Body of Christ" or (as I call it) "Queen Liliuokalani's Revenge". Every time I hear this island imbecility (and some of the local clergy are quite fond of it), I end up thinking that those responsible for it ought to hear the words of another famous Hawaiian: " Book 'em, Danno."
BTW, I'm with KH on LOD. (Gad, what a sentence!) The Mass is a formal rite and songs like LOD are informal music.
Posted by: Hunk Hondo at Mar 17, 2004 3:13:21 PM
Copland's handsome reworkings of the tune and text notwithstanding, there is an American greatness in the purity of the original Shaker music: a cappella, fast, and in unison -- particularly if men sing alone and women sing alone.
I am myself fond of another Shaker classic: "I Will Bow and Be Simple".
A lot of the Shaker texts are not exactly "liturgical" in the Catholic sense, and there are texts that present theological problems from a Catholic perspective, but there are other occasions when carefully selected treasures can be just the ticket.
Then again, I am very fond of a lot of late 18th and 19th century American hymnody. It's a joy to see treasures uncovered for new generations.
Posted by: Liam at Mar 17, 2004 4:29:34 PM
PS on my last comment
It occurs to me that some readers may be programming "Wondrous Love" at this time of you.
If you do, consider doing up-tempo (it's meant to be sung rather fast, in quick 2 not a leisurely 4; if you've ever sung it in a shape note chorus, you'll know what I mean), and using the original harmonies, which can be found in online versions of the shapenote hymnals like Southern Harmony (I think the Christian Ethereal Classics website has that among many others).
A wonderful Sister of St. Joseph introduced my college church choir to the genre a generation ago, and I will never forget the rapturous reaction (thankfully, no applause -- they knew better) of the congregation when we broke into Wondrous Love in the original four-part a cappella harmony up-tempo at a baptism. It really helped unify and deepen the liturgical moment.
Posted by: Liam at Mar 17, 2004 4:36:49 PM
Pockets: Songs for Little People By Joe Wise
Including
Pockets (I got five pockets in my overalls)
The Grizzleback Snookerhog (Grizzle, grizzle, grizzle, grizzle, back, back back back back...)
I Love to Color (It's a color, its a color and you know I love to color...)
Hawaya Hyena
And more...
Really enjoyed it as a kid and now my kids do too.
Posted by: Christopher H. at Mar 17, 2004 5:21:23 PM
