Dance Before the Battle

[Verse 1]
You don't hand a man a weapon
Till he's learned to turn and sway,
Till his boots can find the measure
And his hands know how to play.
Let him learn the reel and round dance,
Let him laugh and let him sing;
There's a steadier heart within him
When he's moved by gentler things.
[Chorus]
Teach him how to dance before the battle,
Teach him verse before the sword;
Let him know the tender language
Of the heart and of the soul.
For a hand that learns compassion
May be strong and still be kind;
Put a poem in his keeping
Before war is on his mind.
[Verse 2]
Let him read the lines of poets,
Hear what sorrow has to say;
Let him sit beside the grieving,
Let him learn another's way.
Teach him every skill of war then,
If that hard hour must come;
But first show him what he's guarding—
Every life, and every home.
[Chorus]
Teach him how to dance before the battle,
Teach him verse before the sword;
Let him know the tender language
Of the heart and of the soul.
For a hand that learns compassion
May be strong and still be kind;
Put a poem in his keeping
Before war is on his mind.
[Bridge]
A measured step, a page held open,
A quiet word when anger calls;
The soul that knows the weight of beauty
Will think twice before it falls.
[Final Chorus]
Teach him how to dance before the battle,
Teach him verse before the sword;
Let him know the tender language
Of the heart and of the soul.
For a hand that learns compassion
May be strong and still be kind;
Put a poem in his keeping
Before war is on his mind.
[Outro]
Teach him how to dance,
Teach him how to feel;
Let the soul be schooled in beauty
Before he learns to wield.