Dance Songs for Weddings
By
Lenny Everson
rev
3 (includes minor style corrections)
Copyright Lenny Everson 2011
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Cover design by Lenny Everson
Published at Smashwords:
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****
For Dianne; our wedding dance spanned two millennia.
Note About the Songs
There are a lot of wonderful songs to which the happy couple can dance at their wedding reception. But sometimes a wedding party will want something less overused, or an additional song or two for an additional dance or two. So I made these songs. You're welcome.
If you use a song, for an occasion,
I’d ask you to let me know that you've used a poem - email me at
lennypoet@hotmail.ca.
(It makes me quite happy.)
If you print the song, note somewhere
that it was written by Lenny Everson. If you adapt it, say "from
a song by Lenny Everson". If you want me to adapt a song, I'll
do it for free. You can do it yourself, but I find that poetry, like
laying bricks or painting birches, looks easy because the
craftsperson makes it look easy, and amateurs tend to find out it's
harder than it seems.
Other than that, you can use these for free, as long as you don't try to claim authorship or to make money from them without sharing that money with me.
For Pete's sake, don't use Making It Legal without the prior approval of the bride and groom.
Lenny
***
Contents
Light and Love
I
Will Listen To You
Dance to the Laughter
There Will Be
Music
Fate
Making It Legal
Finding Music for These Songs
***
Light and Love
Tune: Green Grow the Lilacs
Light poured through the windows on
our wedding day
Lighting the church, as if to say:
“May each
sunrise your world renew
May the light of your love shine always
on you.”
[Chorus]
Come dance me, come
dance me, come dance me tonight
Everyone watching as you hold me
tight
Come dance me, come dance me, come dance me tonight
Stay
in my arms as we move in the light
Light from the candles and light
from above
We’ll dance in the light of a lifetime of love
Light
spreads through the glasses and bottles of wine
I call for a toast
to the fact that you’re mine
There’ll be sunlight on beaches in
the hot summer sun
There’ll be moonlight on snowbanks when
autumn is done
You ask, "Will it last?" and the bright
world replies,
"It's the dance of a lifetime under the
skies".
Love is an ember and love is a
flame
From this day onward nothing's the same
Let's dance this
evening, holding on tight
Let's dance in a world of love and of
light.
***
I Will Listen To You
Tune: Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
I've heard the waves roaring
As
they come from the seas.
I've heard the whispers of
The wind in
the trees.
I listen to the joy of
A band in the park
And
the sound of the night train
Out there in the dark.
[Chorus]
So talk me,
darling
And I'll listen to you
This is my promise
Whatever
we do.
There'll be no long silence
No turning away
I'll
pause when you want me
To hear what you say
I'll hear the soft sound of
Your
breath in the night
And the laughter of children
As they play
in the light
I'll hear the birds singing
And dogs barking,
too
But especially, my darling
I'll listen to you
I'll listen to you, dear
To hear
what you say
For your kind of love
Is hard to repay
And when
the heart's speaking
And needs to be heard
A lover should wait
to
Catch every word.
***
Dance to the Laughter
Tune: On Top of Old Smoky
Life is a game, love
A carousel
ride,
We'll fill it with laughter
If you're by my side
[Chorus]
We'll dance to the
laughter
And dance to the fun
We'll dance to a lifetime
Of a
love on the run
So much that's funny
In this
crazy life
And we'll laugh together
As husband and wife
As long as there's laughter
With
your hand in mine
Smile with me, darling
'Cause things will be
fine
Swatting mosquitoes
Getting old,
getting fat
Living on prunes, love
And laughing at that
How I paint the ceiling
Some
things that you cook
Someone giving us
That rolling eye look
Morning cartoons and
Tippy
canoes
Guys learning bagpipes
And comfy old shoes
Bedframes that squeak, dear
And
socks that don't fit
Luck, good and bad, dear
Oh, we'll just
laugh at it
For life is a game, dear
And love
makes it fun
We'll be laughing together
When all's said and
done.
***
There Will Be Music
Tune: Brazos
I'll sing you a song when we wake in
the morning
I'll sing it again when the evening is falling.
It's
a soft song but a good one for it comes from my love
And I've
borrowed the tune from the angels above.
[Chorus]
So dance to the music
of a new world beginning.
Dance to the music of this old world
spinning.
Dance to the song of the heartstrings of love.
I
promise to cherish you all others above.
The meadowlark sings songs to the
sunshine
And a coyote calls his love to the moonlight,
Oh, my
song is quieter but honest and true
For it comes from the love
that I have for you.
Cats sing to the night and gulls to
the ocean
And a song from the heart is a fabulous notion.
The
daisies by the fence hear the song of the bee
Sharing the music
moves you closer to me.
We'll sing life's songs as we travel
together
Singing along in all kinds of weather.
The song of the
heart is the music of life
A harmony known as "husband and
wife".
***
Fate
Tune: Botany Bay
Sometimes you gotta believe in
fate.
Sometimes it's a roll of the dice.
Sometimes things, they
just work out.
Sometimes luck cuts you a slice.
[Chorus]
So dance with me
darling across the floor
Oh, dance to the love that we've
found.
Whatever fates brought us together
I hope they keep
hangin' 'round!
Maybe it was just a fluke
that you
Wandered into my life
Or maybe some angel knew that
we
Would make a good husband and wife.
Here's to fortune's lucky
wheels
Here's to the outcome of chance
Sometimes it's better
not trying too hard:
Now let's hold each other and dance.
***
Making it Legal
Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
We were all beginning to wonder
If
you'd ever make it legit.
A lot of folks hoped it would happen
And
now at these tables we sit.
[Chorus]
About time! About
time!
About time, we're all here to say
About time! About
time!
We're glad you got married today!
Some people can't wait to marry
Two
days after they've met
Others would rather just tarry
And have
all the rest of us fret
The bride, she looks so lovely
The
groom is handsome and regal
They make such a fabulous
couple
Especially now that it's legal!
Some said, "it ain't gonna
happen"
Others had a stronger belief
Now mixed with our
joy, there's a feeling
That many would just call "relief"!
I'd say we've been really patient
As
time was sifting away
We wanted to make sure you weren't
joking
Which is why we showed up today!
***
Finding Music for these Songs
Each of these dance songs uses a traditional tune, or one whose copyright has long since expired. The songs have survived because they're simple and easy to sing. Some tunes have a dozen different sets of lyrics – those who don't know On Top of Old Smoky probably know On Top of Spaghetti.
Generally it’s (at this time) possible to get versions of the tunes from the web by searching the song name and adding “mp3”, “Youtube”, or“video”, as in “Botany Bay Youtube”. That's good for singers.
If you need guitar chords, you can search "Botany Bay chords" or "Botany Bay tabs", but I'd be suspicious of anybody at a wedding reception with a guitar.
Music with the notes is often available from the local library (ask the librarian) for free, or from the web (for a price) by searching, say "Flow Gently Sweet Afton Sheet Music".
The first song has a reference to a toast and to candles. I don’t suggest actually having the guests hold up candles – cousin Bob may have had too much to drink and is safest just sitting there wondering where he is.
Can We Use These Songs as Poems?
Of course. If you do, you might want to omit the chorus, or use it as first and/or last verse. Or wherever you like.
What About the Chorus?
If the guests have copies of the songs, encourage them to sing along. Even if they don't, encourage them to sing the chorus; the singer can either sing the chorus to teach the crowd or just count on them catching on.
It's not uncommon for folk singers to conclude with singing the chorus two or even three times. I've always figured this was because either a) they'd run out of inspiration and wanted to make the song longer, or b) they were quite drunk by the time they got that far, or c) they were just overly proud of that chorus. Nonetheless, repeating choruses works well for drunks and people who don't want the song to end.
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