Dance Me to the End of Love – English Lyrics

• By: Leonard Cohen

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the profound depth of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love." This iconic song, often perceived as a romantic ballad, carries a powerful historical inspiration rooted in the Holocaust. Through its poetic lyrics and melancholic melody, it offers a unique perspective on love's endurance amidst suffering and the universal themes of life and death.

[English]

(audience applauds)

(romantic strings music)

(singers vocalizing)

♪ Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin ♪

♪ Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in ♪

♪ Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove ♪

♪ And dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Yeah, dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone ♪

♪ Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon ♪

♪ Show me slowly what I only know the limits of ♪

♪ And dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Dance me to the end of love ♪

(romantic strings music continues)

♪ Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on ♪

♪ Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long ♪

♪ We're both of us beneath our love, both of us above ♪

♪ And dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Yeah, dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Dance me to the children who are asking to be born ♪

♪ Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn ♪

♪ Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn ♪

♪ And dance me to the end of love ♪

(romantic strings music continues)

(singers vocalizing)

♪ Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin ♪

♪ Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in ♪

♪ Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove ♪

♪ Dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Dance me to the end of love ♪

♪ Dance me to the end of love ♪

(romantic strings music continues)

(singers vocalizing)

(audience applauding and cheering)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dance /dæns/ A2	verb - to move rhythmically to music noun - a social or formal movement to music
beauty /ˈbjuːti/ A2	noun - qualities that give pleasure to the senses
love /lʌv/ A2	noun - an intense feeling of deep affection verb - to feel deep affection for someone
end /ɛnd/ A2	noun - the final part of something verb - to bring or reach a conclusion
together /tʊˈɡɛðər/ A2	adverb - with or in proximity to others
wedding /ˈwɛdɪŋ/ B2	noun - a ceremony where two people get married
children /ˈtʃɪl.drən/ A2	noun - people from birth to puberty
kisses /ˈkɪsɪz/ B1	noun - acts of pressing lips together as a sign of love or greeting
shelter /ˈʃɛltər/ B2	noun - a place giving protection from weather or danger
passion /ˈpæʃən/ C1	noun - a strong and barely controllable emotion
burning /ˈbɜːrnɪŋ/ B2	adjective - on fire or glowing intensely
vision /ˈvɪʒən/ C1	noun - the ability to see or the imagination of future possibilities