Singers at the Youth Traditional Song conference. Photo by Lorelei Erisis.
Photo by Lorelei Erisis
Country Dance & Song Society > Publications > Listen > Song of the Month

Song of the Month

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:

  • St. Catherine's Church in Towersey among autumn leaves 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:”

    Sheet music for "Cobweb of Dreams"
    Download the sheet music for “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