Songtext Dance before the storm The Levellers

Dance before the storm

These are dangerous times we live in
I heard a man once say
If you're prone to flights of fancy
Your dreams can fly away
See the sights around you
Of breakdown and decay
Wrought by the greed for a better life
For which you have to pay

Will you dance before the storm
and don't look back to where you've been
The horizon's getting further
As the sands of time run thin
Will you dance before the storm
As the machinery breaks down
You watch the sky go black with anger, but no-one makes a sound

From Glasgow town to London
Down the motorways
There's people standing in the rain
Looking for any way
To take them down to where they're bound
It's part of another wayThe art of survival
In a modern age

Will you dance before the storm
and don't look back to where you've been
The horizon's getting further
As the sands of time run thin
Will you dance before the storm
As the machinery breaks down
You watch the sky go black with anger, but no-one makes a sound

From Albion Hill to the old chain pier
You can hear a person say
'spare some change for all me pains
The world has gone astray
Down the road another flat got burnt
Where a friend of mine once stayed
So another squat in brighton
Needs to hide another head

And if your head spins around - go underground
Away from the games they play
There's people down there are trying to care
And let each one have their say
It's not revolution tactics
It's not cause for anarchy
Just a natural fight for a natural life
Of which systems are afraid

And if it all surrounds you
Seems like there's no escape
And there's people stood in front of you
Saying do it in their way
Turn your eyes towards the tides
See how they never change
The sands of time will break their mimd
Just like riding on a wave

Will you dance before the storm
and don't look back to where you've been
The horizon's getting further
As the sands of time run thin
Will you dance before the storm
As the machinery breaks down
You watch the sky go black with anger, but no-one makes a sound