DANClNG IN THE Martin Murphey
When the thaw and the stream beds crawl to the waterfall and river, I'll turn my to the bright green space of the mother, my life-giver. No man has made a ring of jade like corn in the husk. No man could own a turquoise stone as deep as the dusk. So come away your working day and laugh and let your head go, And bring an old-time song for dancing in the meadow.
your bedside for a moonlight ride where the midnight air is warmer. We'll sing for the quail and the cottontail who still the farmer. Deep thickets and bramble bushes where the quiet creatures hide Are part of me, a which I accept with pride. If I must stay and lay all day like a hare in hedgerow, When the gone, it's all night long, for dancing in the meadow.
When the summer's over and come October the evening air is crisper, In the mist and smoke by the twisted oak, I'll to the branches whisper. Barn reel, the furrowed field must yield and quickly turn. Harvest gone, the hoot-owl song is one we now learn. "Who, who, who are you?" and "If it's you, who so?" "Who could it be?" "It's me. I'm dancing in the meadow."
When the seasons and the hourglass has all too quickly shattered, lay me low beneath the snow and wonder if I mattered. Late in the night, your hair gone white will stand on end. hear me sing, my banjo ring, the voice of your old friend. If you get brave, run to my and holler, "Are you dead?" "No!" No tombstone can cover my bones. I'm in the meadow.
[Sung by Michael Murphey on "Swans against the Sun" and "Wildfire 1972-1984."]