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  • Dates: August 8-14 (6 nights, Saturday p.m.–Friday a.m.)
    Location: Agassiz Village, Poland, ME

Song of the Month—This month’s song (bloglist latest)

  • Illustration for the song "James Harris:" a winged demon carrying a woman December 2025: James Harris
    Submitted by Tim Edwards

    Also known as “The Demon Lover” or “The House Carpenter,” this ballad is 243 in the Child collection. I first heard it sung by Pentangle about 1970, and the story of the lost love reappearing after the traditional 7 years in demonic form captivated me and led me to learn it a few years later.

    While some versions downplay the supernatural element, it was this that appealed to me. No version worked perfectly for me, so I ended up with a blend of verses from three different versions in Child, set to a tune I wrote. However, I never recorded the tune, and eventually found I’d forgotten it (lesson learned!), so I now sing it to a tune based on one I heard used for a version of “The Unquiet Grave.”

    Listen to Tim’s recording of “James Harris:”

    Sheet music for "James Harris"
    Download the sheet music for “James Harris.”

    Lyrics

    “Where have you been, my long-lost love,
    This seven long years and more?
    I’ve come to seek my former vows
    You granted me before.”

    “O hold your tongue of your former vows,
    For they will breed sad strife.
    O hold your tongue of your former vows
    For I have become a wife.”

    “I might have married a king’s daughter
    Far far across the sea
    But I refused the crown of gold
    And it’s all for the love of thee.”

    “If you might have married a king’s daughter
    Yourself you have to blame
    For I am married to a ship’s carpenter
    And to him I have a son.”

    “But have you any place to put me in
    If I should with you gang
    I’ve seven brave ships upon the sea
    All laden to the brim.

    “And I’ll build my love a bridge of steel
    All for to help her o’er
    Likewise a web of silk by her side
    To keep her from the cold.”

    And as they were walking up the street
    Most beautiful for to behold
    He cast a glamour o’er her face
    That shone like the brightest gold

    “O how do you love the ship?” he said
    “How do you love the sea?
    And how do you love the bold mariners
    That wait upon you and me?”

    “It’s well I love the ship,” she said
    “It’s well I love the sea
    But woe be to the dim mariners
    That nowhere I can see!”

    And they had no sailed a league, a league
    A league but barely one
    When she began to weep and to mourn
    And to think on her poor wee son.

    “O hold your tongue, my dear,” he said
    “And let all your weeping be
    For it’s soon I’ll show you how the lilies grow
    On the banks of Italy.”

    And they had not sailed a league, a league
    A league but barely two
    When she espied a cloven foot
    From his gay robe sticking through.

    And they had not sailed a league, a league
    A league but barely three
    When dark, dark grew his eerie looks
    And raging grew the sea.

    “O what are yon yon pleasant hills
    That the sun shines so sweetly upon?”
    “O yon are the hills of heaven,” he said
    “Where you shall never win.”

    “And whaten mountain is yon,” she cried
    “All dreary with frost and snow?”
    “O yon is the mountain of hell,” he cried
    “Where you and I must go.”

    He stuck the topmast with his hand
    The foremast with his knee
    He broke that gallant ship in twain
    And sank her in the sea.

    Tim Edwards writes: Born and brought up in Hertfordshire, I started singing folk songs in the early 70’s—initially in Greater London, and since the 90’s in Cheshire, as well as around the country at various festivals and clubs. Since lockdown, I have combined ‘live’ singing with online sessions with friends around the world.

    My main interest is unaccompanied traditional song, although I sing a good number of contemporary pieces, including the occasional self-penned one. In particular, I love traditional ballads and lyrical songs.

Latest Web Chat (bloglist latest)

  • Dancers taking hands across a line

    Succession Planning for Dance Organizations

    December 5, 2024

    • Does your group want to change from having a single organizer to a committee-run model?
    • Have you noticed burn-out among your volunteers and are wondering what to do about it?
    • Are you wondering how to attract new people to the organizing team of your group?

    In this panel discussion, dance organizers shared their experiences with leadership and volunteer changes in their local groups.

    With special guests:

    • Jenny Beer, Germantown Country Dancers, PA
    • Lisa Faryadi, Charlotte Contra Dancers, NC

    Read More

Songs that Speak—Most recent (bloglist latest)

LCA—Most Recent LCA Recipient (bloglist latest)

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CDSS News—Latest Issue (bloglist latest image-left)

CD+S Online—Latest Issue (bloglist latest image-left)

  • CD+S Online Volume 3 coverCD+S Volume 3, April 2022

    With the 2022 issue of Country Dance + Song Online, we are excited to present three articles on very different topics, two of them by contributors new to the journal. We will time-travel to three centuries of Anglo-American dance—all different, but all evolutionarily connected.

    Articles

    • “The Grand March” by Alan Duffy
    • “Couple Dances, Douglas Kennedy’s English Folk Dance Society, and The British Old Time Dance Revival” by Dr. Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe
    • “A Traditional Square Dance in Upstate South Carolina, 2007-2011” by Bob Dalsemer

    Download PDF View as a Flipbook

CD+S Online—Past Issues (bloglist latest image-left)

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Latest News page (bloglist twocol)

Meet Our Society Members (bloglist twocol)

  • Mary Devlin Mary Devlin

    I can’t imagine what my life would be if it weren’t for the Country Dance and Song Society. I used to be a very shy person. Then I discovered I could perform clogging routines in front of people, which led to contra dance, English dance, and then with support from CDSS, I was able to get on stage in front of a room full of people to teach and share my love of dance! This has helped me in all areas of my life—I am comfortable being gregarious and have left that shyness behind. And I now have many friends from all over North America and Europe, a treasure I would never have thought possible.

    Read More

  • Peg Duthie Peg Duthie

    ECD captivates me because it speaks to both my head and heart—its blend of patterns, precision, and haunting, heart-rending melodies are immensely satisfying to practice, study, and improvise on. It’s led to both sublime moments of connection on the dance floor and extraordinary friendships beyond it.

    As someone whose parents both died before the age of 65 and someone who has witnessed problematic outcomes thanks to nonexistent wills, outdated beneficiary designations, and the like, I am a fervent believer in estate planning and maintenance. (Knowing that wills are supposed to be revisited and revised periodically got me past the mental barrier of trying to make the document perfect for Future Me.)

    Read More

  • Michal Warshow and Joel Bluestein Michal Warshow & Joel Bluestein

    Many things make CDSS important to us. Dancing and music have had a huge impact on our lives, not the least of which was bringing us together. Joel grew up in a musical family and first attended Pinewoods in the early 1970s. Michal remembers her first time at Pinewoods in the 1980s, when she was curious to find out how everybody discovered dancing. She was impressed and hugely jealous that many people were introduced to it by their parents and had grown up with music and dance. We’ve done the same with our children. We started bringing them to CDSS family weeks when they were little; they’re now in their 20s, and dance and music are a central part of their lives.

    Read More

  • Luanne Stiles & John Lam Luanne Stiles & John Lam

    Adding CDSS to our estate plans this year was a natural step in setting up our legacy, because we trust CDSS to carry forward the things that matter most to us far into the future.

    When we began dancing in our home communities in Massachusetts, we were focused on our own challenges of becoming competent dancers and thoroughly appreciated the patience and skill of our local leaders. Thanks to Helene Cornelius in the ‘70s and Robin Hayden in the 2000s! We focused on our local groups and were not very aware of CDSS.

    Read More

  • Gaye Fifer Gaye Fifer

    It was definitely time for me to write my will, although I hope not to use it for a good many years. In thinking about what has been a big part of my life, it seems appropriate to designate CDSS as a major beneficiary of my assets. My first husband introduced me to contra dancing over 40 years ago, and I’ve never looked back. After 15 years of dancing, I realized that someone has to do work to keep the dances going. What a revelation! As a result, I learned and grew in taking leadership roles to sustain and nurture my community (local and beyond). This has led me to so many enriching experiences and helped me be the person I am today.

    Read More

  • Doug Young & Pat Petersen Doug Young & Pat Petersen

    We met either dancing or playing music—neither of us can remember, as we were both “otherwise engaged”—but those two threads drew us ever closer, and continue to knit our lives together. Our courtship continued after Doug moved a few hours away—he would drive down to the Friday contradance and whisk me onto the floor.

    The strands in those threads multiplied—waltz, contra, English, square; early music and recorder, old-time music with banjos and guitars, and oh so many songs (Pat is sure that when she is on her deathbed Doug will sing for her yet another song that she’s never heard him sing before).

    Read More

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Previous Web Chats (bloglist twocol noimage)

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For Affiliates (bloglist threecol)

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Community Grants—Recent Recipients (bloglist threecol largeimage)

  • Sarah Jane Nelson with musical instruments

    High Times with Balalaika—Sarah Jane Nelson

    Waltham, MA
    Researching Ukrainian and Russian émigrés whose folk music and dance enriched and enlivened the folk music scene in 20th century North America.

  • Circle Up zines

    Circle Up Calling Zine

    Creating a collection of square dances and thoughts toward promoting inclusivity

  • Brattleboro Bal Folk dancers

    Brattleboro Bal Folk

    Guilford, VT
    Hosting a series of bal folk dances with live music

  • Musicians of the Fiddlehead Field Kids Orchestra in Renaissance garb

    Fiddlehead Field Kids Orchestra

    Campton, NH
    Hosting a community Renaissance dance to showcase young musicians and callers

  • Dancers at Housatonic Family Contra Dance

    Housatonic Family Contra Dance

    Housatonic, MA
    Starting a new dance series for all ages

  • Dance caller at John C. Campbell Folk School

    John C. Campbell Folk School

    Brasstown, NC
    Hosting a community dance series using positional calling

  • Musicians from Moab Community Dance Band

    Moab Community Dance Band

    Moab, UT
    Hosting a series of workshops for new callers
    Funded by the Mary Kay Friday Leadership Training Fund

  • Participants creating a triangle-shaped sword lock

    Nobska Lights/S’wap Sword Dance Workshop

    Woods Hole, MA
    Hosting a workshop/figure swap between youth rapper sword teams and adult rapper and longsword teams
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

  • Dance musicians at TADAMS

    Traditional American Dance and Music Society

    Richmond, VA
    Hosting workshops for dance musicians
    Funded by the Chuck Ward Musicians Training Fund

  • Dancers at Squirrel Moon Contra Dance Weekend

    Squirrel Moon Contra Dance Weekend

    Dodgeville, WI
    Continuing a contra dance weekend post-COVID
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

  • Participants singing in a room with a forest view at Raise the Rafters in Oregon

    Raise the Rafters

    Rhododendron, OR
    Creating a youth-oriented traditional singing event in the Pacific Northwest
    Funded by the Mary Kay Friday Leadership Training Fund

  • Musicians playing in a circle at RiverJam Romp

    RiverJam Romp

    Marlboro, VT
    Hosting a weekend of community dances and workshops for musicians

  • Dancers among glowing lights at Yuletide Frolic

    Yuletide Frolick

    Lawrence, KS
    Hosting a festive dance weekend and callers’ workshop

  • Burlington Family Contra Dance

    Burlington Family Contra Dance

    Burlington, VT
    Creating a community family contra dance for all ages and abilities
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

  • The Marley Project

    The Marley Project

    Michigan
    Archiving the full set of historic Marley family dances, from the Vaudeville era
    Funded by the Anthony Barrand Research & Stewardship Fund

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Publications—Read (bloglist threecol news)

  • CDSS News, Spring-Summer 2025 CDSS News Magazine

    The CDSS News is a three-times-yearly magazine featuring articles, letters, and art about dance and song.

  • CD+S Online Volume 3 cover CD+S Online

    CD+S Online is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published every couple of years and features more in-depth articles than the News.

  • Cover of Playford's The Dancing Master Online Library

    The CDSS Online Library contains free digital copies of previously out-of-print dance books and databases, including Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes, Ken Sheffield’s “From Two Barns” collection, and various indexes from the Colonial Music Institute.

  • Dimond Library reading room at the University of New Hampshire Archive & Collections

    The CDSS Archive & Collections are housed in the Milne Special Collections & Archives at the University of New Hampshire. The CDSS Library is a collection of nearly 3,000 books, 400 periodicals, pamphlets and sheet music, and close to 2000 recordings. The CDSS Archives is a collection of manuscripts, personal papers, microfiche recordings, and archival materials from CDSS history.

  • Map and graphs from community surveys Community Studies

    CDSS Community Studies are recent surveys conducted by us, including CDSS Affiliate Surveys from 2019-2021, the 2018 US Organizer Survey, and the 2017 Canadian Organizer Survey.

Publications—Listen (bloglist threecol news)

  • Contra Pulse Contra Pulse

    Contra Pulse is a podcast taking the pulse of contra dance music today through a series of conversations between host Julie Vallimont and prominent contra musicians from all corners.  Join us in this journey through music, dance, time, space, and community.

  • From the Mic From the Mic

    From the Mic is a podcast about North American social dance calling. Through conversations with callers across the continent host Mary Wesley will explore the world of square, contra, and community dance callers. Why do they do it? How did they learn? What is their role, on stage and off, in shaping our dance communities? What can they tell us about the particular corner of the dance world that they know, and love, the best?

  • Singers at the Youth Traditional Song conference. Photo by Lorelei Erisis. Song of the Month

    The Song of the Month is an ongoing collection of folk songs, curated by members of our community. Each song comes with a story, sheet music, and audio recording for learning.

Publications—Watch (bloglist threecol news)

  • Dance It Yourself! Dance It Yourself

    Dance It Yourself is a multigenerational dance video series, originally produced during the pandemic. The six interactive videos feature well-known traditional dance callers, musicians, and a wide variety of dance styles, all of which can be done solo or in a couple.

  • Saro Lynch-Thomason Songs That Speak

    Songs That Speak is a monthly YouTube series by Saro Lynch-Thomason, supported in part by CDSS. Learn about the history, folklore, and modern-day relevance of traditional songs, and sing along as Saro teaches each song through sing-and-repeat.

  • Darlene Hamilton with guests in a Zoom chat 5 Things: Inside the Dancing Mind of…

    “5 Things: Inside the Dancing Mind of…” is an online video series featuring movers and shakers in the English country dance community. Each guest discusses the five things they feel are most important to their passion for ECD. “5 Things…” is hosted by the Historical Tea & Dance Society and archived by CDSS.

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Online Library—Databases (bloglist threecol news publications)

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dancing Across the Pond

    Dancing Across the Pond by Robert M. Keller, Margaret Keller Dimock and Anne Keller Geraci: 362 Original Country Dance Figures, 191 with Music, ms or Printed

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Peter Rogers Country Dance Index

    Peter Rogers Country Dance Index, 3rd Edition (1986)

  • The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes Volume Three Database Barnes Three Dance Database

    Barnes Three Dance Database: A database of the tunes and associated dances in Volume Three of the Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes, with links to dance instruction and further information about many of the dances.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold The Performing Arts in Colonial American Newspapers, 1690-1783

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Mary Jane Corry, Kate Van Winkle Keller, and Robert M. Keller): The Performing Arts in Colonial American Newspapers, 1690-1783 — This publication fills a major gap in access to eighteenth-century American sources for research in the performing arts and related humanities fields. It includes all references to music, poetry (lyrics), dance, and theater found by our readers in American newspapers, from the earliest extant copy (1690) through the end of the Revolutionary War (1783).

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Early American Secular Music and Its 
European Sources, 1589–1839

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert M. Keller, Raoul F. Camus, Kate Van Winkle Keller, and Susan Cifaldi): Early American Secular Music and Its 
European Sources, 1589–1839: An Index — This is a series of indexes derived from a data base of musical information compiled from primary sources covering the 250 years of the initial exploration and settlement of the United States. It consists of over 75,000 entries that are sorted by text (titles, first lines, recitatives, chorus and burden), by music incipits (represented in scale degrees, stressed notes and interval sequences), with additional indexes of names and theater works.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dance Figures Index: American Country Dances, 1710-1830

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Dance Figures Index: American Country Dances, 1710-1830 — A guide to the basic figures in all American printed and manuscript longways country dances in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century sources. It is drawn from a computer database of information which was gathered from 82 sources, 53 printed and 29 in manuscript.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Early American Songsters, 1734-1820

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Early American Songsters, 1734-1820: An Index —An index of all of the known songsters currently available. The index draws heavily from Irving Lowens’ Bibliography of Songster Printed in America Before 1821 (Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 1976), for titles and other bibliographical information. Lowens defines a songster “as a collection of three or more secular poems intended to be sung.” Most of the songsters do not include music, although many contain references to the names of tunes to which the song could be sung. This publication comprises those songs published through 1800.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dance Figures Index: English Country Dances, 1650-1833

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Dance Figures Index: English Country Dances, 1650-1833 — A guide to the basic figures in major English printed longways country dances in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century sources. This database only includes sources for dances with instruction for country dances, or dances that could be identified as such. It does not include other dance forms, such as Cotillions or Allemand or similar dances.

  • Cover of The English Dancing Master The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium

    Robert M. Keller: The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium (online database)—The Compendium is a searchable database of all known country dances published in the various editions of The Dancing Master, published by John Playford, Henry Playford and John Young, from 1651-1728 in London, with facsimiles of each “unique” dance with its music. This reference work is published by CDSS with the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the New Hampshire Library for Traditional Dance and Music at the University of New Hampshire.

Online Library—Books (bloglist threecol news publications)

  • A blur of contra dancers, with band in the background Mary Dart: Contra Dance Choreography

    Mary Dart: Contra Dance Choreography: A Reflection of Social Change—Originally published by Garland Publishing, Inc., New York & London, 1995. Mary Dart’s classic study explores “the way the choreography of the contra dance, a folk dance tradition brought to us from the British Isles, has been changing, particularly over the last twenty years.” The book, based on interviews with callers, dance composers and musicians, looks at new dances, how they are composed, and what aesthetic and cultural principles underlie the choreographic choices made. 

  • Map of West Virginia Robert G. Dalsemer: West Virginia Square Dances

    Robert G. Dalsemer: West Virginia Square Dances—Originally published by Country Dance and Song Society, 1982. Dalsemer describes dance figures as done in five rural West Virginia communities in the mid- to late-1970s and reports on their regular dance events, including programming, type of audience, price and method of admission, and the traditions of figure calling and musical performance. The history of each dance event is discussed, as is their on-going process of evolution. With appendices: a list of tunes commonly played for square dances; transcriptions of calls; and tunes for caller Worley Gardner’s singing and semi-singing calls.

  • A stack of books Ted Sannella: Annotated Discography and Bibliography from Swing the Next

    Ted Sannella: Annotated Discography and Bibliography from Ted Sannella’s Swing the Next — The annotations and introduction for the Discography and Bibliography in Swing the Next (CDSS, 1996) are included here in their entirety. Swing the Next is a collection of 80 American square, contra, triplet and circle dances, the majority of them written by Ted Sannella, a master of the art of calling American traditional dances.

  • Roy Dommett playing the accordion Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes

    Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes Online Edition — the foundational resource, long out of print, available online.

  • Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing cover Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing

    Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing (17MB PDF)

  • GEMS: The Best of the Country Dance and Song Society's Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest GEMS: The Best of CDSS’s Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest

    CDSS, GEMS: The Best of the Country Dance and Song Society’s Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest

Online Library—Magazines (bloglist threecol news publications)

Online Library—Dances and Other Resources (bloglist threecol news publications)

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Song of the Month—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol)

LCA—Past Recipients (bloglist fourcol)

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Homepage—Latest News (bloglist fourcol news)

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Country Dance & Song Archives (bloglist fourcol newsmag)

The Country Dancer Archives(bloglist fourcol newsmag)

CDSS News—Past Issues (bloglist fourcol newsmag)

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CDSS News older issues (bloglist fourcol smaller)

Song of the Month—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol smaller)

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Songs that Speak—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol noimage)