"The Mummers' Dance" is a song written and performed by Canadian Celtic fusion singer

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her r ...

, released as a single from her sixth studio album, ''

The Book of Secrets ''The Book of Secrets'' is the sixth studio album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on t ...

'' (1997), in November 1997. The song refers to the seasonal

mummers' play Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). ...

performed by groups of actors, often as house-to-house visits. Its lyrics indicate a springtime holiday. As remixed by electronic music production duo DNA, "The Mummers' Dance" reached number 10 in Canada and 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 3 on the

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart, and No. 1 on the

Adult Alternative Songs Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative rad ...

chart. It was used as the theme for the TV series '' Legacy.'' It was also used in the trailer for the film ''

Ever After ''Ever After'' (known in promotional material as ''Ever After: A Cinderella Story'') is a 1998 American romantic period drama film inspired by the Charles Perrault fairy tale, "Cinderella". It is directed by Andy Tennant and stars Drew Barrymor ...

,'' starring

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

, and in the soundtrack of the Brazilian

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

'' Corpo Dourado.'' A music video was also produced for the selection.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

Loreena McKennitt's website

The Mummers' Dance Lyrics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mummers' Dance, The 1997 singles 1997 songs Songs about dancing Television drama theme songs Warner Records singles