WordsOut poems by
St
Mellitus' Dance
for John Hereward,
on the occasion of his leaving
Well I
just came in from my allotment
'cause I hear the news and got to find out what meant
we got a new vicar so I came to see
just what kind of person he might be
Well I know
and all the people are smart and the clergy smile
so two things are sure: one is he’ll preach with passion
and the other is he’ll be a leader of fashion
Well down at St Mellitus
perhaps we haven’t always been too righteous
so I guess it must be our fair reward
that our vicar’s going to be John Hereward
I heard
that Janet & John lived in
till they called one day said we’ve been here too long
we want a job to work in healing
but the line was bad so they were sent to Ealing
They came to
they thought the doctor could curate and he turned out fine
and he must have had a lot of souls to save
because never quite found time to shave.
Now he’s coming to St Mellitus
with a mission to unite us
I’m sure
although there’s something quite fishy about it now
Well
everybody’s got a gift or two
and brings to a church something special and new
but this vicar’s style is a great sensation—
he comes complete with his own congregation!
And just like Joshua marchin’ round
he’s led by musicians wherever he go
It goes to show you’re never alone
with 7 worship leaders 6 singers 5 guitars 4 pianists 3 basses 2 drummers and
someone who occasionally plays the saxophone
Down at St Mellitus
all the harmony will delight us
while back at
led by a music group playing the triangle
Well I
know its nice to have a pet or two
and a dog or a cat can be good for you
but I think it taking things a bit too far
to have your afternoon with a tarantula
They’ve got hamsters mice and budgies and rabbits
and lots of insects with un-Anglican habits
and the vicarage has been renamed the
and they’re holding Communions in the
He’s coming to St Mellitus
I hope his visual aids dont fright us
he can keep the congregation wide awake
when he illustrate the Fall with a real live snake.
At St
Mellitus we don’t mind preachin’
to reach the parts that other vicars ain’t reachin’
a seven point sermon is a piece of cake
and to miss out exegesis is a big mistake.
So we’re all prepared for bible learnin’
with the notebooks out and the pages turnin’
trying to solve the greatest mystery of the day
of why every point always begins with J
When he speaks at St Mellitus
we’re expecting him to excite us
they say that Mr Hereward is the clearest of blokes
as long as somebody else can explain his jokes.
So it’s a
mixture of earth and heaven
in this little patch of W7
you’ll get a bit of Toronto Blessing around
with a lot of Hanwell Messing around
We’re not expecting miracles or tongues of fire
(even though this vicar looks a bit like Isaiah)
just say the prayer and light the candles
and walk on water in a pair of sandals
He’s coming to St Mellitus
we’re thinking that he’ll ignite us
but most of all I hope secretly
he’ll be a normal person—
Performed in the lounge at