The Ballad of George Fox

Lyrics by Sydney Carter (1964)

(These are Carter's lyrics. There are other variants that are frequently heard in the morris dance community.)

There's a Light that was shining when the world began, And a Light that is shining in the heart of man: There's a Light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew, And a Light that is shining, friend, in me and in you.

Chorus: Walk in the Light, wherever you may be, Walk in the Light, wherever you may be! In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the Light, said Fox.

With a book and a steeple And a bell and a key They would bind it for ever, But they can't, said he. O, the book, it will perish, And the steeple will fall, But the Light will be shining at the end of it all.

[chorus]

“Will you swear on the Bible?” I will not,“ said he, “For the truth is as holy as the Book to me.” “If we give you a pistol, will you fight for the Lord?” “You can't kill the devil with a gun or a sword.”

[chorus]

There's an ocean of darkness and I drowned in the night Till I came through the darkness to the ocean of Light; You can lock me in prison but the Light will be free. And I'll walk in the glory of the Light, said he.

[chorus]