Down by the tabernacle, oh!
Where the June bugs danced And the lemonade flowed
And we prayed and we sang 'til The sun sank low
Laughing with our sisters and brothers.
Down by the tabernacle, hey!
Where you knew you were loved And you wanted to stay,
Though the summer heat Was like judgment day,
We always enjoyed each other.
Well, we went to the river And some were baptized,
We clapped our hands and testified
Then we passed around the chicken And the buttermilk pie
And nothing ever tasted better.
Then the kids played ball And the babies just played
And the old men napped Out under the shade
And the women picked flowers And sipped lemonade
And sat around talkin' together.
Down by the tabernacle, oh!
Where the June bugs danced And the lemonade flowed
And we prayed and we sang 'til The sun sank low
Laughing with our sisters and brothers.
Down by the tabernacle, hey!
Where you knew you were loved And you wanted to stay,
Though the summer heat Was like judgment day,
We always enjoyed each other.
Well I look back now And I wish that I could
Go back to the time When life was good,
When everybody lived The way that they should
At least that's the way I recall.
We loved our God with all of our might
And everybody knew The wrong from the right,
And we worked all day And slept all night
And we were proud and stood tall.
Down by the tabernacle, oh!
Where the June bugs danced And the lemonade flowed
And we prayed and we sang 'til The sun sank low
Laughing with our sisters and brothers.
Down by the tabernacle, hey!
Where you knew you were loved And you wanted to stay,
Though the summer heat Was like judgment day,
We always enjoyed each other.
Down by the tabernacle!