Join us each month in song!
Since 2016—our designated Year of Song—CDSS has featured a traditional song each month. Lorraine Hammond spearheaded this effort, and it was such a popular feature that Judy Cook volunteered to continue the tradition in 2017 and beyond.
Note: Many of these old songs should be looked at as “fairy tales for adults” in that they often address very strong, and sometimes scary, subject matter. They allow us to deal with difficult situations and emotions with the distance afforded by putting it in a song. They are cautionary tales, and had their use as such.
This month’s song:
- April 2024: Cobweb of Dreams
Submitted by Sara Grey
“Cobweb of Dreams” was written by Joy Masefield and Leon Rosselson, an English songwriter whose specialty is topical political songs. It is not just the simple love song it first appears to be. In Oxfordshire, England, it was the tradition to present a historical documentary, a combination of drama, music, and light show, of the ancient village of Towersey. “Cobweb of Dreams” was the song which opened and closed the drama, thus binding together the life-cycle of the townspeople of Towersey.
Leon was commissioned to write a love song that was to be sung at the Towersey Festival, and he was very reluctant to do so because he was primarily a writer of political songs and felt uneasy about writing a love song….what a misconception! It turned out to be one of the most poignant and beautiful love songs ever written!
Listen to Sara Grey and the late Ed Trickett performing “Cobweb of Dreams:”
Lyrics
Words by Joy Masefield, Music by Leon Rosselson
I have been searching through the timeless past
Because of you, my love, because of you
Weaving a cobweb that will hold you fast
Because of you, my love, because of you.Oh sing again the song I heard you singing
The song that set the bells of Heaven ringing.
The song that surely told me
The grave could never hold me
Because of you, my love, because of you.And now I know that love’s a fragile flower
Because of you my love, because of you
So little time between the sun and showers
Because of you, my love, because of you.Only by singing can I soothe my sorrow
Because of you, my love, because of you.
Today is gone, but there is always tomorrow
Because of you, my love, because of you.Sara Grey is a fine American singer, banjo player and song collector, who is immersed in the song traditions of both sides of the Atlantic. Her love affair with traditional songs for over 60 years has given her an incomparable knowledge of songs and ballads and how they have moved and evolved. She wants to gather the songs and pass them on to future generations so that they will have the pleasure of hearing and singing them just as she has. After living and singing in Britain for more than 45 years, Sara has returned to her native New England and is living in Vermont with her husband Dave. She continues to tour actively, mostly with her son Kieron Means. See more about Sara on her website.
Past Songs
- March 2024: The Badger Drive
- February 2024: I Wonder When I Shall Be Married
- January 2024: The Hills of Tandragee
- December 2023: Christmas in the Trenches
- November 2023: The Handsome Cabin Boy
- October 2023: Seal Lullaby
- September 2023: Cock Robin
- August 2023: Dives and Lazarus
- July 2023: How to Make Love
- June 2023: The Lazy Farmer
- May 2023: We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough
- April 2023: Reynardine
- March 2023: Free and Easy to Ramble Along
- February 2023: The Rose in June
- January 2023: Bed Is Too Small
- December 2022: Jack Ashton
- November 2022: Wild Mountain Thyme
- October 2022: I’ve Lived in Service
- September 2022: London Town
- August 2022: Yuba Dam
- July 2022: Bibble A La Do
- June 2022: The Golden Willow Tree
- May 2022: Ford o’ Kabul River
- April 2022: Bold Riley
- March 2022: The Foggy Dew
- February 2022: Scarborough Settler’s Lament
- January 2022: Tom o’Bedlam’s Song
- December 2021: We Shepherds Be the Best of Men
- November 2021: Catch Me If You Can
- October 2021: Somebody’s Waiting for Me / Country Garden
- September 2021: The Water Is Wide
- August 2021: Springfield Mountain
- July 2021: Shove the Grog Around (Shanty Song)
- June 2021: The Cruel Mother
- May 2021: Katie Catch
- April 2021: A Pilgrim’s Way
- March 2021: Glenlogie
- February 2021: Sprig of Thyme
- January 2021: Lord Bateman
- December 2020: Brave Boys
- November 2020: Abroad as I Was Walking
- October 2020: The Dowie Dens o’ Yarrow
- September 2020: The Setting of the Sun
- August 2020: Annachie Gordon
- July 2020: Stand Steady
- June 2020: Braw Lads of Galla-water
- May 2020: The Lincolnshire Poacher
- April 2020: The Hills of Mexico
- March 2020: I Saw Three Ships
- February 2020: The Trooper and the Tailor
- January 2020: Lost on the Lady Elgin
- December 2019: Bright Phoebe
- November 2019: Tickle Cove Pond
- October 2019: I’m Going Back to North Carolina
- September 2019: For the Company Underground
- August 2019: The Maid of Sweet Gurteen
- July 2019: Starving to Death on a Government Claim
- June 2019: Annan Water
- May 2019: The Shearin’s No’ For You
- April 2019: Shady Grove
- March 2019: Bedlam
- February 2019: The Bonny Bunch of Roses
- January 2019: Ambletown
- December 2018: Throw Open Your Shutters
- November 2018: The Wild Rover
- October 2018: She’s Like the Swallow
- September 2018: The Night Guard
- August 2018: Here’s Adieu to All Judges and Juries
- July 2018: Sailing
- June 2018: Earl o’Bran
- May 2018: Georgie
- April 2018: A Sailor’s Life
- March 2018: The Banks of Red Roses
- February 2018: The Boy That Wore The Blue
- January 2018: The Bay Of Biscay
- December 2017: Song, Composed in August
- November 2017: The Devil Buck
- October 2017: Double Sledder Lad
- September 2017: Sweet William’s Ghost
- August 2017: Welcome Home My Sailor
- July 2017: Drive Dull Care Away
- June 2017: When I Went for to Take My Leave
- May 2017: Bonnie Annie
- April 2017: The Death of Bill Brown
- March 2017: Money Is King
- February 2017: Tha Sneachd’Air Druim Uachdair
- January 2017: The January Man
- December 2016: Lamb and Lion
- November 2016: Farther On
- October 2016: Skin and Bones
- September 2016: Canaan’s Land
- August 2016: Farmer’s Daughter
- July 2016: Ladies Rejoice
- June 2016: The Press Gang
- May 2016: Dancing at Whitsun
- April 2016: Spring
- March 2016: The Bonnie Blue-Eyed Lassie
- February 2016: Paper of Pins
- January 2016: May It Fill Your Soul