We Can Dance, We Can Sing, the opera-inspired musical outcome of the community music project Warp and Weft that celebrates the 500th anniversary of the weaving trade in Dundee, consists of five scenes. In the first scene the millgirls are out in town, dancing and sharing the latest gossip. It is written for chorus, flute, violin and cello. Here are the words and music:
Millgirls, it’s Friday night
Time to go out
We’ll dance and we’ll swing
Till the latest bus
Walk with our chums
Down the Monkey Parade
We walk and we chat
Till it is late.
Our Lilly started
When she was fifteen
Spinning and winding
Alongside Jean
Working there too
Are her mother and Jen
Her auntie Sally
And uncle Ken.
Did you hear
Mary will get married to Clive?
Soon she’ll have children
Three, four or five
They will soon join her
To Bower Mill
Shifters to start with
To pay the bills.
We can dance, we can swing
Stay out late, loudly sing
We are girls,
Girls of the mills.
Copyright text, words and music Petra Vergunst
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