"Lord of the Dance," is a hymn written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1963. The melody is from the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts" composed in 1848. It is also known as "I Danced in the Morning" for the opening words of the first verse.Howard, Beverly A. 2022. "Hymn Stories: 'I Danced in the Morning.'" Baptist News, February 10. https://baptistnews.com/article/hymn-stories-i-danced-in-the-morning/ The hymn is widely performed in English-speaking congregations and assemblies.
The song follows the idea of the traditional English carol "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", which tells the gospel story in the first-person voice of Jesus with the device of portraying his life as a dance.
Author's perspective
In writing the lyrics to "Lord of the Dance", Carter was inspired partly by Jesus, but also by a statue of the Hindu deity Shiva as Nataraja (Shiva's dancing pose) which sat on his desk. He later stated, "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."
Carter wrote:
Criticism Verse 3 of the hymn, which includes the lines that "I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame // [t]he Holy People said it was a shame // they ripped me, stripped me, hung me high // Left me there on the cross to die", has been analysed as implying collective Jewish responsibility for the death of Jesus, although other interpreters do not identify the "Holy people" directly with Jews. Notable recordings Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, on the album But Two Came By (1968) The McCalmans, on the album Singers Three (1969) The Corries, on the live album The Corries In Concert (1969) Donovan, on the album HMS Donovan (1971) The Dubliners, on the album Now (1975) Champions of Europe, "Stand Free", on the album Gothenburg (1983) The Bach Choir, on the album Family Carols (1991) Charlie Zahm, on his album The Celtic Balladeer (1999) Blackmore's Night, on the album Winter Carols (2007) Salisbury Cathedral Choir, on the album Great Hymns from Salisbury (2013) New World, on "B" side of the single "Kara Kara" (1971) Applachian Spring, Ballet, Choreography by Martha Graham, music composed by Aaron Copland (1944). Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfdwgXSdcMw
References
External links "Lord of the Dance" and "Simple Gifts" Lyrics to "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" Songs of America - Simple Gifts - Shaker Hymn, 1:40, Cibertracker Imperium. Includes clips of dance. I Danced in the Morning (LORD OF THE DANCE), 3:55, First Plymouth Church Lincoln Nebraska