The Wedding Banquet

	D G D / A D / G D / A D //
	I cannot come,
	I cannot come to the banquet,
	Don’t trouble me now,
	I have married a wife,
	I have bought me a cow,
	I have fields and commitments,
	That cost a pretty sum,
	Pray hold me excused
	I cannot come.

/: G D / A D ://
A certain man held a feast
On his fine estate in town.
He laid a festive table,
He wore a wedding gown,
He sent out invitations
To his neighbors far and wide,
But when the meal was ready
Each one of them replied:

The master rose up in anger
Called his servants by name, said
Go into town, fetch the blind and the lame
Fetch the peasant and the pauper
For this I have willed:
My banquet must be crowded,
And my table must be filled.

When all the poor had assembled
There was still room to spare,
So the master demanded:
Go search everywhere.
Search the highways and the byways,
And tell them to come in
My table must be filled
Before the banquet can begin.

Now God has written a lesson
For the rest of mankind:
If we are slow in responding
He may leave us behind.
He is preparing a banquet
For that great and glorious day,
When the Lord and Master calls
Us be certain not to say:



aka. I Cannot Come