Sydney Bertram Carter (6 May 1915–13 March 2004) was an English poet, songwriter, folk musician and Christian/Quaker, born in Camden Town, London. He is best known for the song Lord of the Dance (1963), set to the tune of the American Shaker song Simple Gifts and featured in Aaron Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring. Another notable song is One More Step along the road I go... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Folk Music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the common people. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus, whom they regard as a/the Christ. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... Camden Town is a place in the London Borough of Camden, England. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... Lord of the Dance is a hymn written by Sydney Carter in 1963. ... The Shakers are an offshoot of the Religious Society of Friends (or Quakers) that originated in Manchester, England in the early 18th century. ... Simple Gifts is a traditional Shaker song. ... Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... The Waltz of the Snowflakes from Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker. ... Appalachian Spring is a ballet score by Aaron Copland that premiered in October 1944, and achieved widespread popularity as an orchestral suite. ...

He studied at Christ's Hospital school in Horsham, West Sussex and Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in history in 1936. A committed pacifist, Carter joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit on the outbreak of World War II and served in Egypt, Palestine and Greece. Christs Hospitals buildings in London in 1770. ... Horsham is a market town in West Sussex, England with a population of roughly 50,000. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... College name Balliol College Named after John de Balliol Established 1263 Sister College St Johns Master Andrew Graham JCR President Jack Hawkins Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... For other senses of this word, see history (disambiguation). ... The Friends Ambulance Unit was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by British Quakers, and mostly staffed by conscientious objectors, that operated from 1914-1919, 1939-1946 and 1946-1959 in twenty-five countries around the world. ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France/Free France, United States, Canada, China, India, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

He worked as a lyricist for Donald Swann's reviews and musicals in the 1950s and in 1962, produced an album Putting Out The Dustbin with Sheila Hancock, with the song Last Cigarette on failing to give up smoking that became a minor hit. Donald Ibrahím Swann (September 30, 1923–March 23, 1994) was a British composer, musician and entertainer. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... A dustbin is a container used to store refuse which can be made out of metal or plastic¹. Other names include trash can, garbage can and trash bin. ... Sheila Hancock (born February 22, 1933) is a British actress and comedienne. ...

Partly inspired by Jesus, and partly by a statue of Shiva as Nataraja, Sydney wrote the lyrics "Lord Of The Dance" in 1963, as an adaptation of Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts", and a tribute to Shaker music. 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… Anyway, it's the sort of Christianity I believe in." Jesus (8-2 BC/BCE — 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Shiva (Sanskrit: शिव; Hindi: शिव (when used to distinguish lordly status), and written Åšiva in the official IAST transliteration, pronounced as is a form of Ishvara or God in the later Vedic scriptures of Hinduism. ... Bronze Chola Statue of Nataraja Nataraja (literally, The King of Dance) is the dancing posture of Lord Åšiva, the aspect of God as the Destroyer in Hinduism. ... Joseph Brackett Jr. ...

"I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance. But Jesus is the one I know of first and best. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus.
Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did. The Shakers didn't...

Green Print for Song (1974)

In 1964, he married his second wife Leela Nair, with whom he had a son Michael, who became a neurosurgeon. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

He continued to work with Donald Swann writing six songs for the 1964 Donald Swann EP, Songs Of Faith And Doubt.

In the 1960s, he also worked as a critic for Gramophone magazine. A critic (from Greek κριτικός, kritikós - one who discerns, from Ancient Greek κριτής, krités, a judge) is a person who offers reasoned judgement or analysis, value judgement, interpretation, or observation. ...

In 1965, Carter wrote the six-song EP album Lord Of The Dance with Martin Carthy on guitar, the Johnny Scott Trio and the Mike Sammes singers. He also worked with Nadia Cattouse and Jeremy Taylor. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Jeremy Taylor (born 24 November 1937) is a British folk singer / songwriter who has spent much of his life in South Africa, but is now living in Wales. ...

Bibliography

• The Rock Of Doubt (1978)
• Dance In The Dark (1980)

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Sydney Carter

• Sydney Carter & "Lord of the Dance" at Stainer & Bell
• American Shaker Music

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• The Independent
• The Daily Telegraph
• The Guardian Unlimited