@Bronxloyalist No, thats nothing to do with being liberal and everything to do with being a retard. And anyway they're are just as many right wing authoritarian retards (if not more) And whats a loyalist doing checking out corries songs? You do know that these guys don't really do loyalist music? They're kinda the opposite to that.
@ObiShayri2009 shame to see xenophobia (even more of a shame from someone I assume is also a Scotsman), re English Loons, the chap that wrote the hymn was an Englishman
@Irishborne it is actually an English song ( written by english poet Sydney Carter in the 1960s ) but its supposedly based on an old, unwritten Scottish folk song. It has no connection to Ireland, apart from being used by Michael Flatley in the 1990s for his Irish dancing .
@Irishborne dubliners sang loads of corries and scots songs as did the corries sing irish songs, we are celrts and share many traditions.. i could ask why irish wear kilts but i'm not that daft, why does anyone from any nation sing another nations songs? why did metallica sing whisky in the jar or u2 sing help by the english band known as the beatles? because they like the songs... simple, and too be honest, bit of a silly question on your part pal.
Thank you for your reply. As I do not know you, I did not know of your singing background. I had to look up the words myself, and so to educate myself, and others of the words. I meant no disrespect - just thought maybe you were unfamiliar of the words. I really like this song.
@snipermatt123 when I was little my dad and I would always sing ''I'll eat you all'' and I'm not sure if that is why but I can never hear it as ''Lead' ... only 'Eat' . haha
yes I am. The Shaker version is actually called "Simple Gifts,"
(Sorry, I was tired when I wrote this.)
Copeland used the Shaker tune in "Appalachian Spring" in the 1940's, which was preformed in England.
According to Wikipedia and other sources,
"Simple Gifts" is an 1848 Shaker song by Elder Joseph Brackett. English songwriter Sydney Carter, adapted the Shaker tune for his song "Lord of the Dance", first published in 1963.
I have never been so impressed by anyone before. I'm American, but I never heard of the Corries til I moved here. I'm Scot by heritage but sad to say I'm a US citizen but this country (Scotland) is my heart! I just wish I had lived here when they were in their prime. Not that he is, but sadly Roy died and I'll never be able to thank him...thank them for their wonderful contribution!
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! am i right or am i right?
Only The Corries could have taken such a universally known song, and one sung by millions of schoolchildren around the world and made it sound so utterly original. Wonderful stuff.
@joelhowells I know exactly what you mean. I used to have to sing this in middle school choir in assembly and was not a fan back then, and when I decided to lo longer be christian (at the age of twelve) I thought I'd heard the last of it but then I heard this aged 14 and I loved every second of it and still do!
LOL, I'm sorry, TheGumby89! Sometimes I forget that other people than Scots are watching these videos. "jumpers" is mostly a Scottish word I suppose. Anyway, thats the Scottish word for "sweaters" as I believe is your name for them in the states. :-)
Thanks for you very kind explanation for all of us in the States uggyoggy9! I love this song! I discovered the Corries through random browsing a few months ago and thoroughly enjoy their music. Reading the insightful comments people post and researching the backgrounds of their songs has helped me to learn a tiny bit more about Scottish music, though I wish I knew more.
Tommy Makem suggested it simply meant she was what used to be called "Black Irish" and some tied people with dark hair or a darker-than-a-redhead skin tone with survivors of the Spanish Armada who supposedly washed up on the coast and used their foreign wiles to spread their DNA throughout the land. Pure rubbish, but you'll hear the story to this day.
I see her as a beauty just exotic enough to tangle a young man's heart for all his days.
Irish legends of the Celts coming to Ireland had black people among their number. The Irish (and Scots) speak eastern Celtic, not western, because they originated in Galicia in Turkey and came through Africa and Spain.
As I said, the Spanish Armada story (which I heard a self-identified "neo-Celtic" group tell just the other week) is what Sarah Makem used to call "harmless foolishness".
The there is the old Keltiarii v Gael thing. I knew a fellow once who was trying to book a Celtic instrumental group in Greece before "Celtic" was as trendy as it is now. No luck atall. When he talked with some club managers, they wondered why he thought they'd draw a crowd with "Barbarian music". Isn't language fun?
Forgot to mention: the Irish, English, Welsh & Scots, unlike other Euros, are most genetically related to the Basques, dark haired Mediterraneans. The Celtic is a genetic overlay. The Basques are the original Euros.
Exactly. "Celtic", "Gael" et al., are essentially linguistic descriptors. "Harmless foolishness" otherwise. (Did I mention I LOVE that Sarah Makem phrase? It applies to SO much pop anthropology) When I was performing, I used to describe the repertoire as containing (among other things) "Irish and Scottish" rather than Celtic. Lost me a few gigs, but I was happier with myself.
(Lively, cheerful...children could skip rope to it ^_^)
Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me
(repeat that part twice),
Look away beyond the blue.
Slow, slow, drone, drone, funeral dirge style, very mournful, a bit eerie...
Do Lord, do Lord, do remember me,
On the day I die, remember me.
(Wow. HUGE difference!)
(I'd already gathered that "look away beyond the blue" meant "look toward heaven"...as in, the afterlife...but, I'd always thought of it as a happy song.)
Are you familiar with the recordings of Sam Hinton? Back in the Great Folk Scare, he introduced a lot of us to tracking back the songs to see how they started. At the time, anybody who did folk music seemed under an obligation to provide the audience with a colorful story for "ethnic context" with each and every song. A few of these were even slightly accurate. The rest ....... So Sam introduced reputable scholarship to the process, with delightful results.
No, I didn't know about the recordings of Sam Hinton. Interesting what you say about him, though.
(I'm reminded of the YouTube video of the Dubliners singing "The Spanish Lady" and at the beginning they say, "And she was known as the Spanish Lady...because she came from Spain." ^_~) (Yes, just state the obvious, that'll keep the audience laughing. ^_~)
(Actually I've read online that calling her "the Spanish lady" may mean calling her a lady of doubtful character. Oh, well.)
Back when he was emerging from his "Blind Boy Grunt" period, and trying to be Woody Guthrie, I remember Dylan introducing "Fenario" (American version of Pretty Peggy), with "I been a lotta places, but I ain't never been to Fenario."
Gotta be amused by the guy's presumption. (Apologies to the late Mr. Thurber.)
For some time the only version I had ever heard of a hymn that goes, "Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me..." was set to a very lively tune. (I knew it was a Christian hymn, but I always thought it was a lively one, suitable for celebrating and having fun. And little kids in Sunday school. Kind of like "This Little Light of Mine." ^_^) Well..a few years ago, I went to a play which used another version...a slow, droning, dismal, funeral dirge sort of version. I was quite surprised!
I had the same reaction the first time I heard Paul Robeson's recording of "This Little Light". Solo voice and minimal piano, very classic/art song. Took some getting used to, but his voice makes up for a lot.
(well, he may have literally danced on the Sabbath, but healing on the Sabbath [working on the Sabbath] is specifically what we are told the "holy people" of the time said was wrong)
(so, he "danced" whenever he did anything special/important/etc., whether there was literally dancing in it or not)
oops. do with LOTD (1st sentence.) I know the You Tube is all about the visual image, but if you're going to have fora, minimal preview and edit functions would be nice.
Any road, back to the story.
But first, KittyStarlight, may I say I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion of the song.
As a writer,collector and performer, I have always been fascinated by the way others can find in our work things we didn't put there consciously. I have learned so much about my own work from external analysis.
To psaltseller about "minimal preview and edit functions would be nice"...sure would. (Amazon has them. Internet Movie Database has them. YouTube does not have them. Why? Don't ask me [sigh].)
I'm glad you got to meet Sydney Carter...he sounds like a very interesting person. ^_^
Church of England wedding service? Hmmm. Obviously I should read more about that. I'm not very familiar with it. (I do know of the psalms in which the trees and mountains dance and clap hands and suchlike. ^_^)
I had an e-mail today from a member of a Messianic Dance Troupe who made a reasonable case for dance being used in the Bible as "praise prayer". That last is a term with which I am not familiar, and the text seemed to draw heavily on the Liturgical Movement/Dance thing of the 1970's, but it's a thought as far as the use of "dance" in various songs.
And in the back of my head I'm recalling Garry Trudeau's "Jimmy Thudpucker interviews Dylan" strip.
To psaltseller about "Men of Harlech" and "Scots Wha' Hae for Wallace Bled"
...well, compare the lyrics and I think you can kind of see how they go to the same tune. (Exactly how which syllable goes where might need a little adjusting, but not all that much really.)
God is Love
God is the Lord of the Dance
Jesus is the Lord of the Dance
(In the "Lord of the Dance" song, "the dance" seems to have the additional meaning of "God's work" or "the holy work".) (Besides just life itself.)
"I am the lord of the dance" = "I am the lord of all creation".
"And I'll lead you all in the dance" = "I am the one who leads all of you in the dance that is life itself/existence itself".
(The song definitely includes ideas about actual dancing...but in particular, the idea of dancing is being used to symbolize rejoicing/celebrating/etc. and also "the dance" itself.)
Message of the song...the one who was born at Bethlehem and the one who leads us all in the dance are one and the same.
To Gabezzz from a few months back...rereading some of my old comments, I can see now how you thought I was saying (I wasn't) that the "Lord of the Dance" words were from the Quakers. I think, though, that if you carefully read those few posts together AND the posts I was replying to, it becomes fairly clear from the context that I was saying that the "Simple Gifts" words were from the Quakers. (The "Lord of the Dance" words are believed to be partly inspired by the "Simple Gifts" words.)
Ooops. SHAKERS, not Quakers. (Don't know what I was thinking...but probably I accidentally copied "Quakers" from a poster or posters I'd replied to a few months ago. Sorry. Sigh. I know better. Grrr. Aaargh. Can't edit posts in here, though. YouTube should add an "edit" feature.)
Hmmmm...you know, it really does sound like "I'll eat you all" (more and more, the more I listen to it). ^_~
The words of the first verse are almost entirely from either pagan or combined-pagan-and-Christian ideas (medieval ones, for instance). "Bethlehem" is the only word in the first verse that identifies it as not an entirely or primarily pagan song. (The later verses make it increasingly obvious who/what the song is about. Still sounds to me, though, like a song written by someone sympathetic to pagan ideas and/or not necessarily committed *only* to Christianity.) (Fits with what psaltseller said.)
(Continuing again) I don't know for sure if this is how the author meant it, but what the song is saying to me is, "I am the Christian version of Christ AND I am the Lord of the Dance" (i.e. the lord of all creation, not necessarily defined only by Christianity). (Actually, reading what psaltseller said the author said about the song, likely that IS how he meant it. Whether he knew exactly what the expression "lord of the dance" means, I can't say, but it fits with what he probably meant. ^_^)
(Continuing) I didn't know that the song was even Christian at all until I listened closely to the words (on TV a few years ago) and found out that it was talking specifically about the *Christian* lord of the dance. I was pleasantly surprised, since I like Christian AND pagan ideas. ^_^ (Anyway, "lord of the dance" is a [usually pagan] way of saying "lord of all creation". Its use in a Christian hymn is a pretty unusual use. I don't know of any other Christian hymn that uses that phrase.)
KittyStarlight, you just reminded me of a story Jean Ritchie used to tell about going to a funeral as a child. Partway, she heard the congregation singing "in The Sweet Bye and Bye" and turned to her mother and said: "Mama, someone made a church song out of "Bye in the Sky!!!"
And there was someone who told me about getting the giggles at the Stock Version of Amazing Grace (another funeral) when the only lyrics she knew were a Neo-Pagan thing about slaughtering goats.
I hadn't heard before about "someone made a church song out of 'Bye in the Sky'!!!"...but, yes, that's close to what I meant. ^_^ ("Someone made a church song out of 'Lord of the Dance'!!!" ^_~) (Oh, and "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"...that's another one about Jesus dancing. ^_^)
(Both songs have...rather more Christian lyrics than I originally realized. ^_~)
Goat-slaughtering version of "Amazing Grace"? Never yet heard that one (that I know of)...but I could make up one about slaughtering chickens:
Amaaaziiing chickens, how sweet they scream,
Then they run around with their heads cut off...
(There was an episode of Kid Nation [an American TV show in 2007-2008 that was about kids living pioneer style for a while, mostly without grownups] that showed a real chicken ACTUALLY running around with its head cut off [just as in the expression ^_^].)
I'd always *heard the expression* "running around like a chicken with its head cut off"...but, not being farm-raised myself, hadn't ever SEEN it before. Interesting. Even if also a bit weird/creepy.
Is your screen name "psaltseller" derived from "psalter" and/or "psalterer" plus "saltseller"? (I think there's also "salt cellar" [salt container].)
For several years, until my wife and I went into hiatus to care for our mothers, we were on the craft show and renn faire circuit. She does diverse craftish things, and makes/dresses dolls. I make various instruments and wooden thingies, with emphasis on a variety of psalterium harps.
Early on, we needed a name, and "Psalt of the Earth" turned up. We do table psalts, some folk say we have healing psalts, and so on.
The song was written by Sydney Carter (1915 - 2004 - poet, songwriter, musician, choirister), a Londoner through and through. It is under copyright to Stainer and Bell. Chech thrie web site.
According to Mr. Carter, when I saw him in seminar, the tune traveled from "Simple Gifts" to "Lord of the Dance" by way of "Appalachian Spring". BTW, he was particularly fond of the Corries version.
The reference to dance is from the Bible, although Mr. Carter did cite other dancing deity traditions.
To psaltseller: While "a time to dance" is from the Bible, "lord of the dance" isn't, that I know of, anyway. (And I don't know for sure where the tradition of calling all of creation "the dance" came from.) ("Lord of the dance" is a popular pagan expression [well, I don't know where it came from originally, but it's popular with modern pagans]. "The dance" is everyone and everything, living and being and celebrating. Calling Christ "the lord of the dance" blends Christian and pagan ideas.)
Apparently that thing from the C of E wedding service where G-d is the groom, leaping the mountains and bounding the hills was part of the mental picture Carter had. He cited some earlier translations (Pre-King James Committee) that used "dance" rather than "leap" There was also a 60's George Santayana (sp?) poster about "Never Trust a Diety Who Can't Dance." That tied in somehow.
Well said! So long as people enjoy it wtf?? Heck I play accordion and I can guarantee no matter where I play that some one will come and ask for the "Birdie Song". Bloody awful tune but it gets people on the dancefloor enjoying themselves...
It's the foottappers and clappers that I can't stand... but hey it pays the bills... :-)
what complete nonsence! Just take it for what it is, a very nice song Telling of Jesus in probably the most innocent way possible. I think He likes the song....
Well, I definitely care where the song came from...but you're right, there's certainly no need for people to *argue over* where it came from. (Personally I've heard it most often used as just a fun song...the church use and the anti-church use were both new to me. Each use, the fun use, the church use, and the anti-church use, is just a different particular use of the same song. It can be enjoyed in many different ways. ^_^)
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Actually the Lord of the dance is Shiva, in the Hindu story of the dance of creation. This song used to push Christianity of kids is really a HIndu song at root.
don really think such an old song could hav its roots that far... i mean u had the celts up there, romans... don see any indians back in the days in scotland....
It matters not who came up with this song first, does it? No.
The Corries did an amazing job with this and I wish I could have seen this in person. This guy has an amazing voice that I didn't expect and fits this song quite perfectly in my humble opinion.
I forgot all about this song,as a kid we used to sing it at Sunday school(Chalmers church of Scotland, Uddingston) at Easter, we all used to go crazy because its such an upbeat tune
I'm not to keen on people who pick things apart just for the hell of it, let them put they're minds to it i dont think any of them could possibly write anything so good, so i dont like anyone who bad mouths someone who can, The CORRIES ( Roy & Ronnie ) were and are fantastic musicians and performers who are unrivaled by anyone then or now in arranging traditional songs i have been to many of their performances and enjoyed them for what they were GREAT PERFORMANCIES.
They didn't write it, but good point nevertheless. Still, an expert on a certain subject can still compare things. Would you find it strange if somebody very knowledgable and passionate about cars were to say that a certain car manufacturer was crap, or a latest car design doesn't work very well. The point still stands.
Whit the HELL are you FUCKERS talkin aboot ???? ye like ye dinae like it SO whit. Hivin a great discussion aboot it WELL grow tae fuck up, 'mythology' its jist a song jeesus christ almighty hiv ah tae listen tae twats like yoo's aw mah fuckin life goan oan aboot irrelevancies d'ye like it or no wan or t'other then shutt the fuck UP.....
2 of the very best voices in Folk Music EVER...!!
Andling 1 week ago
Where are they playing? If've seen this background in any number of their videos.
Arkybark 1 week ago
corries brill
george50ish 2 months ago
I think he is singing "I'll lead you all in the dance.." Makes sense that way.
fairfieldSteve108 4 months ago
I've always loved this version from the Corries.
saturnfiverocket 4 months ago
made me want to drink beer!
Tanarus20 6 months ago
Love this song, didn't know the Corries did a version, it's quite good.
NorCalFolkSinger 6 months ago
dammmmmnnnnnnn that's deadly!
hippyable 6 months ago
@hippyable totally agree!
RoedererLyne 6 months ago
@RoedererLyne true! so true!
hippyable 6 months ago
are you serious!? they played this!??!!?! IT WAS PLAYED AT MY CHURCH!!!! they actually play good music at my church!
DrinkToIreland 7 months ago 2
Could someone tell me what that type of drum is called? Something makes me think tabor but I'm probably wrong.
Ninjamonkey456 7 months ago
@Ninjamonkey456 I believe it is called a bodhrán, not sure of the pronunciation.
rpvids1038 7 months ago
@rpvids1038 It's pronounced "Bow - rawn" and you are correct sir.
WhiteCavendish 7 months ago
Liberal Quakers want to remove the 'Holy people said it was a shame' line because it refers to 'Jews'. Liberalism is a mental disease.
Bronxloyalist 8 months ago
@Bronxloyalist No, thats nothing to do with being liberal and everything to do with being a retard. And anyway they're are just as many right wing authoritarian retards (if not more) And whats a loyalist doing checking out corries songs? You do know that these guys don't really do loyalist music? They're kinda the opposite to that.
1brutaldeath 8 months ago
I played this song in band when we went to State in 2006 in high school when we got 3rd place. I was 1st chair trumpet.
MMusashi7 8 months ago
Totally Brilliant.
nkosb 9 months ago
7 english loons dislike this
how could you, this song is awesome
ObiShayri2009 10 months ago
@ObiShayri2009 shame to see xenophobia (even more of a shame from someone I assume is also a Scotsman), re English Loons, the chap that wrote the hymn was an Englishman
Padre471atc 9 months ago
i love the corries was brought up listening to them and i still listen to them there music is top class
DAVIDH101280 10 months ago
What is the drum he is using?
dpb1994yo 10 months ago
@dpb1994yo bodhran
surfer5864 10 months ago
@dpb1994yo The drum is a bodhran, used in Ireland and the Highlands
keithewright 9 months ago
NO KING SAVE JESUS!
SonofCastille 10 months ago
Roy does so well in this all eyes are on Ronnie and his huge bodhran but roys interchange between flute and vocals are really good
danonutube1 1 year ago
i can imahine some real crocodile dundee moments with that bodhran
"you call that a Bodhran, THIS is a Bodhran!"
Dan3va 1 year ago 4
@Dan3va Brilliant!!!!!
thetimbastardocanada 11 months ago
As much as I love this rendition, this is an Irish song. So please, Scots, pardon my confusion as to why there are Scots singing an Irish song.
Irishborne 1 year ago
@Irishborne it is actually an English song ( written by english poet Sydney Carter in the 1960s ) but its supposedly based on an old, unwritten Scottish folk song. It has no connection to Ireland, apart from being used by Michael Flatley in the 1990s for his Irish dancing .
memorygraphic84 1 year ago 2
@Irishborne Just be proud that others want to sing such a joyful song, whether it's Irish or any other nationality.
Ginandor 1 year ago 4
@Irishborne dubliners sang loads of corries and scots songs as did the corries sing irish songs, we are celrts and share many traditions.. i could ask why irish wear kilts but i'm not that daft, why does anyone from any nation sing another nations songs? why did metallica sing whisky in the jar or u2 sing help by the english band known as the beatles? because they like the songs... simple, and too be honest, bit of a silly question on your part pal.
ScottieWallace 1 year ago 3
go ronnie and roy u sing like u own the song beautifully sung once again makes me proud tae be scottish listening to yous
DAVIDH101280 1 year ago
Anyone notice Rowan Atkinson in the audience? ^^
Otaku155 1 year ago
@Otaku155 HOLY CRAP YOUR RIGHT !!
Thompsonf1001 1 year ago
@Otaku155 Where?
TheRantingBrit 1 year ago
@TheRantingBrit 1:11
Otaku155 8 months ago
I love this song. My mom and I sang it in Church together. Everyone joined in on the song. It is very catchy :)
Antennabetty1 1 year ago
Jesus thats some bodhran.!
meltogue 1 year ago
godbless...
crf250chris 1 year ago
7 Canadian's disliked!!!!!
warlocklegion77 1 year ago
I want to learn to play the bodhran :)
stuartz1985 1 year ago
@stuartz1985 if you can hold a pencil, you can play it hehe.
Otaku155 1 year ago
hes at 1-11min must be a relation of pino
bondie45 1 year ago
Just how big is that bloke in blue nose omg.
bondie45 1 year ago
Thank you for your reply. As I do not know you, I did not know of your singing background. I had to look up the words myself, and so to educate myself, and others of the words. I meant no disrespect - just thought maybe you were unfamiliar of the words. I really like this song.
LILLYDALESUE 1 year ago
NO1 CAN MAKE ANYTHING MORE ORIGINAL THAN THE CORRIES!!!
ZenosMagi 1 year ago
'Cannibal of the Dance'
"I'll eat yooou uppp in the dance said he!"
"I'll live in you if you live in me!"
TheThreeWeavers 1 year ago 9
@TheThreeWeavers IT'S NOT "EAT YOU ALL" - IT'S LEAD YOU ALL"!!!
LILLYDALESUE 1 year ago
@LILLYDALESUE
LOL
Ever heard of a joke? I've been brought up singing this song. Less of the captials please.
TheThreeWeavers 1 year ago
@TheThreeWeavers It's a really funny joke... I'm quite laughing now... Seriously!
Chomuno 1 year ago
the way he says it sounds like "ill eat you all" on my speakers
snipermatt123 1 year ago 11
@snipermatt123 when I was little my dad and I would always sing ''I'll eat you all'' and I'm not sure if that is why but I can never hear it as ''Lead' ... only 'Eat' . haha
Maksimfan 1 year ago
@snipermatt123 ..it does sound "eat you all"...lol.still a good tune tho
hillbillyscotsman 1 year ago 2
@snipermatt123 I bellieve that the words are "I'll lead you all in the dance"
eilsada 2 days ago in playlist Mix di YouTube relativo a The Corries
only the corries can lift ones spirit & hopes of many god bless you x
jaldorian 1 year ago
I love the corries my dad raised me on there music and now i have found an old school song that is simply amazing xxxx God Bless and Thanks xxxx
FannyNElvis 1 year ago 2
The instrumental version of this should be Finlay's theme !!!!! XD!
DiamondCutter19 1 year ago
So DANCE, Dance ~ Wherever you may be!
<3
swanngranny 2 years ago 5
Beautiful.
endora60 2 years ago
what do you call that drum?
TheChiefEngineer 2 years ago
@TheChiefEngineer that's a bodhran.
Puritan1985 2 years ago
Bodhran. Its a traditional celtic instrument.
steinerz66 1 year ago
BRILLIANT XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ajscotland2 2 years ago
@rosswatt, why is the song better than ya dad ??? ahhh
sunderlandton 2 years ago
i was brought up listening to this stuff with my dad , i hated it at first but i soon grew to love ot , wow i have 17 corries albums
sunderlandton 2 years ago
@sunderlandton ,same here now i know the songs better than my dad!
rosswatt1979 2 years ago
I'm am used to hearing this is a slow choir song, I like this more :D
Cakevspie94 2 years ago
Memories - FANTASTIC
blackshaw69uk 2 years ago
The tune is from the American Shaker religious dance tune, "Simple Things"
hhighwater 2 years ago
@hhighwater u sure its not the other way round?
rosswatt1979 2 years ago
yes I am. The Shaker version is actually called "Simple Gifts,"
(Sorry, I was tired when I wrote this.)
Copeland used the Shaker tune in "Appalachian Spring" in the 1940's, which was preformed in England.
According to Wikipedia and other sources,
"Simple Gifts" is an 1848 Shaker song by Elder Joseph Brackett. English songwriter Sydney Carter, adapted the Shaker tune for his song "Lord of the Dance", first published in 1963.
hhighwater 2 years ago
@hhighwater ok was just curious as thought song that old was original but now i know tnx
rosswatt1979 2 years ago
I have never been so impressed by anyone before. I'm American, but I never heard of the Corries til I moved here. I'm Scot by heritage but sad to say I'm a US citizen but this country (Scotland) is my heart! I just wish I had lived here when they were in their prime. Not that he is, but sadly Roy died and I'll never be able to thank him...thank them for their wonderful contribution!
yankr52 2 years ago 4
sort of song u sing when ur pissed wi ur mates :P
mackinnon182 2 years ago
I love this (it sounds like they're singing "I'll eat you all" LOL but I know they're not!)
alligatorgal 2 years ago 5
Haha I remember I had to sing this in assembly in p3.
jennivega2001 2 years ago 5
me too! 38 years ago in folkestone,never heard it again till now
TheFridgechucker 2 years ago
great song these guys are awesome im planing on buying some cds lol
CelticthunderRules 2 years ago 4
wow! so cute..!
samyunhee 2 years ago 3
I had this as one of my hymns when I got married earlier this year, and you could hear the feet tapping above the singing, it was amazing
21justjoan 2 years ago 16
well the tune do get in in the mood or it hehe :) and gratz on getting married :)
DeathToAllHamsters 2 years ago 2
ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! am i right or am i right?
cordes12345 2 years ago 2
Information on the Scots, Irish, English, Welsh and the Basque/
Google: English Irish genetic Basque New York Times
AnotherCuppaCoffee 2 years ago
Only The Corries could have taken such a universally known song, and one sung by millions of schoolchildren around the world and made it sound so utterly original. Wonderful stuff.
joelhowells 2 years ago 60
@joelhowells I know exactly what you mean. I used to have to sing this in middle school choir in assembly and was not a fan back then, and when I decided to lo longer be christian (at the age of twelve) I thought I'd heard the last of it but then I heard this aged 14 and I loved every second of it and still do!
Maksimfan 1 year ago
@joelhowells, amazing how they make a hymn sound like a folk tune - totally universal appeal, whatever you believe :-)
indig0ding0 6 months ago
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LOVE this song =)
maxmaxen2 2 years ago
How does Roy manage to breathe during this?? Great skill.
rossmcl177 2 years ago 6
"How does Roy manage to breathe during this??" Good question. ^_~ (And, yes, great skill, I agree. ^_^)
=^___^=
KittyStarlight 2 years ago 2
a song about the life and times of Jesus
tomhamilton8 2 years ago 2
:D i am the lord of the dance said he :D
mcfly2345 2 years ago
I love these performances, when The Corries dressed in jumpers and shirts. Feels like they were performing at home for family and friends. I love it!
vanillacapncream: I didn't know that about Roy, thanks for that comment. Roy played the flute so beautifully!
uggyoggy9 2 years ago 3
"jumpers?"
Great song!
TheGumby89 2 years ago
LOL, I'm sorry, TheGumby89! Sometimes I forget that other people than Scots are watching these videos. "jumpers" is mostly a Scottish word I suppose. Anyway, thats the Scottish word for "sweaters" as I believe is your name for them in the states. :-)
uggyoggy9 2 years ago 2
Thanks for you very kind explanation for all of us in the States uggyoggy9! I love this song! I discovered the Corries through random browsing a few months ago and thoroughly enjoy their music. Reading the insightful comments people post and researching the backgrounds of their songs has helped me to learn a tiny bit more about Scottish music, though I wish I knew more.
longhornjames 2 years ago 3
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VanillaCapnCream 2 years ago 9
Tommy Makem suggested it simply meant she was what used to be called "Black Irish" and some tied people with dark hair or a darker-than-a-redhead skin tone with survivors of the Spanish Armada who supposedly washed up on the coast and used their foreign wiles to spread their DNA throughout the land. Pure rubbish, but you'll hear the story to this day.
I see her as a beauty just exotic enough to tangle a young man's heart for all his days.
The cop protects her, so she can't be all bad.
psaltseller 2 years ago
Irish legends of the Celts coming to Ireland had black people among their number. The Irish (and Scots) speak eastern Celtic, not western, because they originated in Galicia in Turkey and came through Africa and Spain.
AnotherCuppaCoffee 2 years ago
As I said, the Spanish Armada story (which I heard a self-identified "neo-Celtic" group tell just the other week) is what Sarah Makem used to call "harmless foolishness".
The there is the old Keltiarii v Gael thing. I knew a fellow once who was trying to book a Celtic instrumental group in Greece before "Celtic" was as trendy as it is now. No luck atall. When he talked with some club managers, they wondered why he thought they'd draw a crowd with "Barbarian music". Isn't language fun?
psaltseller 2 years ago
Forgot to mention: the Irish, English, Welsh & Scots, unlike other Euros, are most genetically related to the Basques, dark haired Mediterraneans. The Celtic is a genetic overlay. The Basques are the original Euros.
AnotherCuppaCoffee 2 years ago
Exactly. "Celtic", "Gael" et al., are essentially linguistic descriptors. "Harmless foolishness" otherwise. (Did I mention I LOVE that Sarah Makem phrase? It applies to SO much pop anthropology) When I was performing, I used to describe the repertoire as containing (among other things) "Irish and Scottish" rather than Celtic. Lost me a few gigs, but I was happier with myself.
psaltseller 2 years ago
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tristramshorter 2 years ago
(Lively, cheerful...children could skip rope to it ^_^)
Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me
(repeat that part twice),
Look away beyond the blue.
Slow, slow, drone, drone, funeral dirge style, very mournful, a bit eerie...
Do Lord, do Lord, do remember me,
On the day I die, remember me.
(Wow. HUGE difference!)
(I'd already gathered that "look away beyond the blue" meant "look toward heaven"...as in, the afterlife...but, I'd always thought of it as a happy song.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Are you familiar with the recordings of Sam Hinton? Back in the Great Folk Scare, he introduced a lot of us to tracking back the songs to see how they started. At the time, anybody who did folk music seemed under an obligation to provide the audience with a colorful story for "ethnic context" with each and every song. A few of these were even slightly accurate. The rest ....... So Sam introduced reputable scholarship to the process, with delightful results.
psaltseller 2 years ago
No, I didn't know about the recordings of Sam Hinton. Interesting what you say about him, though.
(I'm reminded of the YouTube video of the Dubliners singing "The Spanish Lady" and at the beginning they say, "And she was known as the Spanish Lady...because she came from Spain." ^_~) (Yes, just state the obvious, that'll keep the audience laughing. ^_~)
(Actually I've read online that calling her "the Spanish lady" may mean calling her a lady of doubtful character. Oh, well.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
I still prefer to think of her as the lady from Spain. ^_^
=^__^=
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Back when he was emerging from his "Blind Boy Grunt" period, and trying to be Woody Guthrie, I remember Dylan introducing "Fenario" (American version of Pretty Peggy), with "I been a lotta places, but I ain't never been to Fenario."
Gotta be amused by the guy's presumption. (Apologies to the late Mr. Thurber.)
psaltseller 2 years ago
For some time the only version I had ever heard of a hymn that goes, "Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me..." was set to a very lively tune. (I knew it was a Christian hymn, but I always thought it was a lively one, suitable for celebrating and having fun. And little kids in Sunday school. Kind of like "This Little Light of Mine." ^_^) Well..a few years ago, I went to a play which used another version...a slow, droning, dismal, funeral dirge sort of version. I was quite surprised!
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
I had the same reaction the first time I heard Paul Robeson's recording of "This Little Light". Solo voice and minimal piano, very classic/art song. Took some getting used to, but his voice makes up for a lot.
psaltseller 2 years ago
"I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me and the dance went on"
(holy work etc.)
"I danced on the Sabbath and I healed the lame
The holy people said it was a shame"
(well, he may have literally danced on the Sabbath, but healing on the Sabbath [working on the Sabbath] is specifically what we are told the "holy people" of the time said was wrong)
(so, he "danced" whenever he did anything special/important/etc., whether there was literally dancing in it or not)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
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psaltseller 2 years ago
oops. do with LOTD (1st sentence.) I know the You Tube is all about the visual image, but if you're going to have fora, minimal preview and edit functions would be nice.
Any road, back to the story.
But first, KittyStarlight, may I say I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion of the song.
As a writer,collector and performer, I have always been fascinated by the way others can find in our work things we didn't put there consciously. I have learned so much about my own work from external analysis.
psaltseller 2 years ago
To psaltseller about "minimal preview and edit functions would be nice"...sure would. (Amazon has them. Internet Movie Database has them. YouTube does not have them. Why? Don't ask me [sigh].)
I'm glad you got to meet Sydney Carter...he sounds like a very interesting person. ^_^
Church of England wedding service? Hmmm. Obviously I should read more about that. I'm not very familiar with it. (I do know of the psalms in which the trees and mountains dance and clap hands and suchlike. ^_^)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
I had an e-mail today from a member of a Messianic Dance Troupe who made a reasonable case for dance being used in the Bible as "praise prayer". That last is a term with which I am not familiar, and the text seemed to draw heavily on the Liturgical Movement/Dance thing of the 1970's, but it's a thought as far as the use of "dance" in various songs.
And in the back of my head I'm recalling Garry Trudeau's "Jimmy Thudpucker interviews Dylan" strip.
psaltseller 2 years ago
To psaltseller about "Men of Harlech" and "Scots Wha' Hae for Wallace Bled"
...well, compare the lyrics and I think you can kind of see how they go to the same tune. (Exactly how which syllable goes where might need a little adjusting, but not all that much really.)
God is Love
God is the Lord of the Dance
Jesus is the Lord of the Dance
(In the "Lord of the Dance" song, "the dance" seems to have the additional meaning of "God's work" or "the holy work".) (Besides just life itself.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
"I am the lord of the dance" = "I am the lord of all creation".
"And I'll lead you all in the dance" = "I am the one who leads all of you in the dance that is life itself/existence itself".
(The song definitely includes ideas about actual dancing...but in particular, the idea of dancing is being used to symbolize rejoicing/celebrating/etc. and also "the dance" itself.)
Message of the song...the one who was born at Bethlehem and the one who leads us all in the dance are one and the same.
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
To Gabezzz from a few months back...rereading some of my old comments, I can see now how you thought I was saying (I wasn't) that the "Lord of the Dance" words were from the Quakers. I think, though, that if you carefully read those few posts together AND the posts I was replying to, it becomes fairly clear from the context that I was saying that the "Simple Gifts" words were from the Quakers. (The "Lord of the Dance" words are believed to be partly inspired by the "Simple Gifts" words.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
(Correcting something from a few comments back)
Ooops. SHAKERS, not Quakers. (Don't know what I was thinking...but probably I accidentally copied "Quakers" from a poster or posters I'd replied to a few months ago. Sorry. Sigh. I know better. Grrr. Aaargh. Can't edit posts in here, though. YouTube should add an "edit" feature.)
Hmmmm...you know, it really does sound like "I'll eat you all" (more and more, the more I listen to it). ^_~
Okay, I'll shut up for a while now (finally ^_~).
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
The words of the first verse are almost entirely from either pagan or combined-pagan-and-Christian ideas (medieval ones, for instance). "Bethlehem" is the only word in the first verse that identifies it as not an entirely or primarily pagan song. (The later verses make it increasingly obvious who/what the song is about. Still sounds to me, though, like a song written by someone sympathetic to pagan ideas and/or not necessarily committed *only* to Christianity.) (Fits with what psaltseller said.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
(Continuing again) I don't know for sure if this is how the author meant it, but what the song is saying to me is, "I am the Christian version of Christ AND I am the Lord of the Dance" (i.e. the lord of all creation, not necessarily defined only by Christianity). (Actually, reading what psaltseller said the author said about the song, likely that IS how he meant it. Whether he knew exactly what the expression "lord of the dance" means, I can't say, but it fits with what he probably meant. ^_^)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
(Continuing) I didn't know that the song was even Christian at all until I listened closely to the words (on TV a few years ago) and found out that it was talking specifically about the *Christian* lord of the dance. I was pleasantly surprised, since I like Christian AND pagan ideas. ^_^ (Anyway, "lord of the dance" is a [usually pagan] way of saying "lord of all creation". Its use in a Christian hymn is a pretty unusual use. I don't know of any other Christian hymn that uses that phrase.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
KittyStarlight, you just reminded me of a story Jean Ritchie used to tell about going to a funeral as a child. Partway, she heard the congregation singing "in The Sweet Bye and Bye" and turned to her mother and said: "Mama, someone made a church song out of "Bye in the Sky!!!"
And there was someone who told me about getting the giggles at the Stock Version of Amazing Grace (another funeral) when the only lyrics she knew were a Neo-Pagan thing about slaughtering goats.
Nice memories. Thanks.
psaltseller 2 years ago
I hadn't heard before about "someone made a church song out of 'Bye in the Sky'!!!"...but, yes, that's close to what I meant. ^_^ ("Someone made a church song out of 'Lord of the Dance'!!!" ^_~) (Oh, and "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"...that's another one about Jesus dancing. ^_^)
(Both songs have...rather more Christian lyrics than I originally realized. ^_~)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Goat-slaughtering version of "Amazing Grace"? Never yet heard that one (that I know of)...but I could make up one about slaughtering chickens:
Amaaaziiing chickens, how sweet they scream,
Then they run around with their heads cut off...
(There was an episode of Kid Nation [an American TV show in 2007-2008 that was about kids living pioneer style for a while, mostly without grownups] that showed a real chicken ACTUALLY running around with its head cut off [just as in the expression ^_^].)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
I'd always *heard the expression* "running around like a chicken with its head cut off"...but, not being farm-raised myself, hadn't ever SEEN it before. Interesting. Even if also a bit weird/creepy.
Is your screen name "psaltseller" derived from "psalter" and/or "psalterer" plus "saltseller"? (I think there's also "salt cellar" [salt container].)
(Anyway, clever name. ^_^)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Thank you. I sell my psalts.
For several years, until my wife and I went into hiatus to care for our mothers, we were on the craft show and renn faire circuit. She does diverse craftish things, and makes/dresses dolls. I make various instruments and wooden thingies, with emphasis on a variety of psalterium harps.
Early on, we needed a name, and "Psalt of the Earth" turned up. We do table psalts, some folk say we have healing psalts, and so on.
It says on my ID that I'm retired. Yeah.
psaltseller 2 years ago
psaltseller,
Ah, yes, of course...table psalts, healing psalts (and, I'm sure, some well-seasoned psalts! ^_^).
"Psalt of the Earth"...that's cute. ^_^
=^__^=
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Dance for whatever and dance wherever!! I second that - Dance to eternity! Could those be Native drums in there playing with the Corries.
TheSailingdancer 2 years ago
great song
bashirD 2 years ago
I might not really believe in god or gods, but I love this song
momAFK 2 years ago 2
The song was written by Sydney Carter (1915 - 2004 - poet, songwriter, musician, choirister), a Londoner through and through. It is under copyright to Stainer and Bell. Chech thrie web site.
According to Mr. Carter, when I saw him in seminar, the tune traveled from "Simple Gifts" to "Lord of the Dance" by way of "Appalachian Spring". BTW, he was particularly fond of the Corries version.
The reference to dance is from the Bible, although Mr. Carter did cite other dancing deity traditions.
psaltseller 2 years ago 2
To psaltseller: While "a time to dance" is from the Bible, "lord of the dance" isn't, that I know of, anyway. (And I don't know for sure where the tradition of calling all of creation "the dance" came from.) ("Lord of the dance" is a popular pagan expression [well, I don't know where it came from originally, but it's popular with modern pagans]. "The dance" is everyone and everything, living and being and celebrating. Calling Christ "the lord of the dance" blends Christian and pagan ideas.)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
Apparently that thing from the C of E wedding service where G-d is the groom, leaping the mountains and bounding the hills was part of the mental picture Carter had. He cited some earlier translations (Pre-King James Committee) that used "dance" rather than "leap" There was also a 60's George Santayana (sp?) poster about "Never Trust a Diety Who Can't Dance." That tied in somehow.
psaltseller 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I like this song. Yes it is my personal opinion. But my personal opinion is important, so you all better give me a thumps up.
ScotlandMarco 2 years ago
thumps up.
IrishDrunkBastard 2 years ago 2
just enjoy the song...who gives a fuck were it came from or who wrote it...faark sake people,,,no wonder the worlds fucked up.....
okatoman 2 years ago 6
Well said! So long as people enjoy it wtf?? Heck I play accordion and I can guarantee no matter where I play that some one will come and ask for the "Birdie Song". Bloody awful tune but it gets people on the dancefloor enjoying themselves...
It's the foottappers and clappers that I can't stand... but hey it pays the bills... :-)
DrKincade 2 years ago
It's just interesting to know who was (originally) speaking.
And there are some awfully long dead musicians and lyricists whose spirit lives in these songs.
But sure, it's just worth sitting back and enjoying.
Rhydderch69 2 years ago
maurice,
what complete nonsence! Just take it for what it is, a very nice song Telling of Jesus in probably the most innocent way possible. I think He likes the song....
MrTriggr 2 years ago
So do I.
rafhenlow 2 years ago
To MrTriggr,
I think He likes the song too. ^_^
To okatoman,
Well, I definitely care where the song came from...but you're right, there's certainly no need for people to *argue over* where it came from. (Personally I've heard it most often used as just a fun song...the church use and the anti-church use were both new to me. Each use, the fun use, the church use, and the anti-church use, is just a different particular use of the same song. It can be enjoyed in many different ways. ^_^)
KittyStarlight 2 years ago
goosebumps, shivers.. love it !!!!!!!
jrb51055 2 years ago
One of my favourite songs even better when it is sung by the Corries.
kldudmp 2 years ago
Same here.
Dan00bindahouse 2 years ago
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jle727 2 years ago
great song
tomhamilton8 2 years ago
fantastic we sing this on easter servise in high school
StruanSkye 2 years ago
this song reminds me of a priest called fr peter lamass ... rip . really nice man x
bern73 2 years ago
awesome version
LuvGlamRock 2 years ago
brilliant. folk music at it's best!!!
steverenney 2 years ago 3
Am I missing something here? Sounds like a song about the life of Jesus to me.
BillDFC 2 years ago 7
it is a hymn as well but i prefer the corries version
taxiscot 2 years ago 5
yeah it is but they done this version of it
2pac1971to1996rip 2 years ago
Sung this at Church on Holy Saturday & Easter Sunday. It's a brilliant song / hymn and I have never heard a version I didn't like.
TartanBiscuit 2 years ago
You are not missing anything. It certainly is a hymm about the Life of Jesus Christ
Sipatbana 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Actually the Lord of the dance is Shiva, in the Hindu story of the dance of creation. This song used to push Christianity of kids is really a HIndu song at root.
maurice 2 years ago
don really think such an old song could hav its roots that far... i mean u had the celts up there, romans... don see any indians back in the days in scotland....
Capelaio 2 years ago
When was Shiva born in Bethlehem maurice, or crucified!? We don't have to 'push' christianity. Shiva is dead, Christ is alive.
rafhenlow 2 years ago
Amen!! And unlike Shiva, Christ desires us to dwell with Him, in Him, and He in us. And the best part.....it's Free. No admission. Just come :)
DeiVerbum777 2 years ago
Thanks. Nice to know that some one else listens to the words of songs.
rafhenlow 2 years ago
It matters not who came up with this song first, does it? No.
The Corries did an amazing job with this and I wish I could have seen this in person. This guy has an amazing voice that I didn't expect and fits this song quite perfectly in my humble opinion.
Caeldo 2 years ago 4
I forgot all about this song,as a kid we used to sing it at Sunday school(Chalmers church of Scotland, Uddingston) at Easter, we all used to go crazy because its such an upbeat tune
awmascrotum 2 years ago 3
I also thought the tune was from the very early Christian era. It's still a beautiful piece no matter if Christian or pagan.
dtb3843 3 years ago
U said that the best way it could be said.
We will always miss Roy, I know i will.
RUNRIGFAN99 3 years ago 5
I'm not to keen on people who pick things apart just for the hell of it, let them put they're minds to it i dont think any of them could possibly write anything so good, so i dont like anyone who bad mouths someone who can, The CORRIES ( Roy & Ronnie ) were and are fantastic musicians and performers who are unrivaled by anyone then or now in arranging traditional songs i have been to many of their performances and enjoyed them for what they were GREAT PERFORMANCIES.
pawpawbear02 3 years ago 3
They didn't write it, but good point nevertheless. Still, an expert on a certain subject can still compare things. Would you find it strange if somebody very knowledgable and passionate about cars were to say that a certain car manufacturer was crap, or a latest car design doesn't work very well. The point still stands.
Pomepwns 3 years ago
Whit the HELL are you FUCKERS talkin aboot ???? ye like ye dinae like it SO whit. Hivin a great discussion aboot it WELL grow tae fuck up, 'mythology' its jist a song jeesus christ almighty hiv ah tae listen tae twats like yoo's aw mah fuckin life goan oan aboot irrelevancies d'ye like it or no wan or t'other then shutt the fuck UP.....
pawpawbear02 3 years ago 2