Category: What’s New

In episode 7 of From the Mic, Mary talks with caller and choreographer Chris Page, who has called contras and English country dance in San Diego for about 15 years.

Ed Miller introduces “London Town,” written by the world-renowned fiddler Kevin Burke. The song is a tribute to the many Irish laborers who helped rebuild London after World War II.

Bob Bovee introduces “Yuba Dam,” an old-time song with a humorous tale of verbal misunderstandings. 

Kim Wallach introduces “Bibble A La Do.” Also known as “Buttermilk Hill” and “Shule Aroon,” “Shule a Ghra,” “Siúil a Rún,” and by many other names, the song laments a lad gone for a soldier—sometimes one for whom the singer has sold everything to supply with the tools of war, only for them to die anyway.

Joel Mabus introduces “The Golden Willow Tree,” in which a duplicitous sea captain strikes a bargain with a cabin boy to take down a pirate ship.

George Stephens introduces “Ford o’ Kabul River,” a poem by Rudyard Kipling set to a tune by Peter Bellamy. The song tells the story of a regiment of British Hussars who drowned while attempting to cross the river and occupy Kabul during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879.

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. Read more and download the issue.

Ian Robb introduces “Bold Riley,” a sailor’s farewell that has become a favorite memorial song.

The Spring 2022 CDSS News is now available! Learn about the Johnny Appleseed of morris dance; try a two-couple ECD or a happy march; read an interview with the late, great Tony Barrand; and much more.