Story Behind The Song
On a Thursday night I heard a fiddler doing cajun-style licks. On Friday night I danced in a square set with a striking woman and her striking step-daughter. That night I woke from deep sleep, wrote this down in detail, and went back to sleep.
Song Description
South Louisiana boy carries bewitching dancing girl's image with him throughout his life after leaving home because he knew he could never have her. Fiddle by Tim Crouch.
| Song Length |
3:13 |
Genre |
Blues - Country, Country - Cajun |
| Tempo |
Medium Fast (131 - 150) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Restless, Enchanting |
Subject |
Unrequited Love, Life |
| Similar Artists |
Doug Kershaw, Sleepy LeBeouf |
Language |
English |
| Era |
1960 - 1969 |
| |
Lyrics
Lila
© 2008 Charley Sandage
She would stand for a while on the edge of the music
Little sun-brown girl with the tumbledown hair
She was eight years old and I was no older
I stood in the shadows and watched her waiting there
In a little while someone would call out her name
"Lila come dance, dance so sweet"
The ddrums and the pipes and the tears and the fiddles
That hid in her mind would pick up her feet
Dance, Lila, dance, ride on the music
Turn with the fiddle and turn once again
Smile and clap to the sound of the music
I knew that I loved her even then
In ten years more she was known for her beauty
And her voice was a song everyone said
The light of her eyes and the grace of her step
They were coals of fire in a young man's head
The soft summer nights were a dream of Lila
With her skirt swinging full and her hair trailing down
The boys, they would play like heaven's own devils
The people, they would shout as they circle around
Dance, Lila, dance, ride on the music
Turn with the fiddle and turn once more
Smile and clap to the sound of the music
I loved her even more than I did before
There were boys who were rich, boys who were handsome
I knew Lila never would marry my kind
So I ran one night for the northbound road
With the sound of the fiddle full in my mind
From the years on the road to the years in the city
I made my way well enough in the world
But the day never came I was free from the thought
The sight and the sound of that sun-brown girl
Dance, Lila, dance, ride on the music
Turn with the fiddle and turn once again
Smile and clap to the sound of the music
Love her even more than I did back then