And When They Dance (The Lasses Who Dance)

I learned this song from bro. Danny Spooner back in 2013.  He, in turn, got it from an Australian gent Roy Abbott who composed the song as less than a folk song than a band song in the style of his group, the Mucky Duck Bush Band.  Roy died in 2013 from Oesophageal cancer.  I have yet to hear the song as it was originally intended by Roy Abbott, but the version as sung by Danny has such great charm and it is how I present it.

.  G            Em            C                  D
I play in a band, I’ve played all around,
.         G                   Em         C                         D
From Perth in the west to old Melbourne Town,
.      G                     C                       G                 D
But one thing delights me each time I look down
.            C                  D                     G
It’s the lasses who dance ‘til the morning.

Chorus: And when they dance their dresses spin round,
               They travel so light that they scarce touch the ground,
               The smiles on their faces would win any crown*
               The lasses who dance ‘til the morning.

I’ve played for the gentry I’ve played for them all,
From the old bush hut to the debutante’s ball,
But one thing unites them the great and the small
It’s the lasses who dance ‘til the morning.

And when the dance ends and they all leave the floor
Their legs are so weary tired and sore
But who are the ones that keep yellin’ for more?
It’s the lasses who dance till the morning.

So, long may I travel and far may I roam
Around this big country we call our home
Playing for people that I’ll never know
And the lasses who dance till the morning.

*Crowd in the original lyrics, but Danny had taught me “crown”, like a reference to a beauty pageant or such, and I rather like the imagery, so there it is.