The Mummers' Dance Lyrics

When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fairWhen owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern lightWe've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gayWho will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the yearThe songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland daysWe've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again

We bring a garland gayAnd so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are goneA garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's handWe've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gayWe've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay