Gypsy --
Ralph McTell, From "Not 'Till Tomorrow," 1973

Our fathers out of India come
And stopped where they found waters
And the Georgia boys with their greedy eyes
Coveted our daughters, coveted our daughters
And the moon shone into the seas across the ponds with silver
There was music that night and the darker side of the music made you shiver
To be the Gypsy

Across the deserts our fathers come
With dancing boy and bear and drum
And the Georgia boys with their greedy eyes
Coveted our freedom, coveted our freedom
And we fit in your landscape as the six to the five senses
But the pastures close as the cowboy knows
And the world's cut up by fences
To catch the Gypsy

The colors fade on the caravan
And all roads bend in change
And the vigilantes move us on
But still we do remain
And while we do remain
Your ways only keep us on
The paths that we have chosen
But when it's cold at night
And the fire won't light
And the children's hands are frozen
It's hard to be the Gypsy

The fire that burns to cage the key
The dancer of delight
The flame that burns behind the eyes
Yet flickers in your sight
Flickers in your sight
And you may die of cold because
The ways that you have chosen
Have warmed your hands but not your heart
And left your poor soul frozen
Let the Gypsy dance.

Now if the Gypsy cannot dance
In your heart you may discover
That the flame needs air to burn
And soon it'll be all over

If the Gypsy cannot dance
In your heart you may discover
That the flame needs air to burn
And soon it'll be all over