Lord of the Dance

"Foot Notes: An Organ Recital" was presented at Moody Methodist Church in Galveston, Texas, on August 22, 2024 by Mary Jean Sargent, AAGO.

This piece features Jean Sargent (flautist) and Anna Leigh Sargent (violinist, hidden behind the organ).

The words to this hymn can be found below. I picked it because it’s hard to dance without feet, and since footwork is our theme for the evening, it seemed appropriate! (Incidentally, some of us find it difficult to dance with feet, myself included. I can play the organ, but I can’t dance.) This hymn is a personal favorite of my friend, Ed Conner, and the arrangement is dedicated to him.

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.

I danced for the scribe and the Pha­ri­see,
But they would not dance and they would not fol­low me;
I danced for the fish­er­men, for James and John;
They came to me and the dance went on. (Refrain)

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)

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)

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)