Spider's Web | Mama Lisa's World Blog

“Spider’s Web” – An American Folk Song

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

One goal of the Mama Lisa’s World sites is to help preserve traditional songs around the world. Sometimes songs have been remembered by a group through unexpected means. This seems to be the case with Spider’s Web.

Margaret B. was taught this song by her mother, who learnt it from her mother, who learnt it from her mother. In Margaret’s family, they sing it as a lullaby to the children.

According to Margaret, Spider’s Web originates with 19th century Kentucky settlers. The Girl Scout’s sang it as a camp song back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, thus helping to preserve it in many peoples’ memories.

Margaret recorded Spider’s Web and posted it on YouTube. Happily, she contacted me and let me post it on Mama Lisa’s World. Now we can all hear the song. Just click on the bar below to hear Margaret’s haunting rendition of Spider’s Web. I’ll post the lyrics below the video.

Spider’s Web

Down in the valley,
There is a mission,
By the old oak tree.
By the mission,
There is a fountain,
Where my love told me:

There’s a web like a spider’s web,
Made of silk and light and shadows,*
Spun by the moon in my room at night.
It’s a web made to catch a dream,
Hold it tight ‘til I awaken,
As if to tell me, my dream is all right.

In the evening,
I was leaving,
My love dreamt of me.
I was sleeping,
She was weeping,
When she said to me:

There’s a web like a spider’s web,
Made of silk and light and shadows,
Spun by the moon in my room at night.
It’s a web made to catch a dream,
Hold it tight ‘til I awaken,
As if to tell me, my dream is all right.

I met a stranger,
His name was Danger,
We rode side by side.
Down in Santa Fe,
I killed a man they say
Danger told me, “Ride!”

There’s a web like a spider’s web,
Made of silk and light and shadows,
Spun by the moon in my room at night.
It’s a web made to catch a dream,
Hold it tight ‘til I awaken,
As if to tell me, my dream is all right.

Now if I return,
They will hang me,
By the old oak tree,
Down by the mission,
Down by the fountain,
Where my love told me:

There’s a web like a spider’s web,
Made of silk and light and shadows,
Spun by the moon in my room at night.
It’s a web made to catch a dream,
Hold it tight ‘til I awaken,
As if to tell me, my dream is all right.

*This line can alternately be sung as, “Made of silver light and shadows”.

Many thanks to Margaret B. for sharing this song with us. You can see other YouTube videos by Margaret on her YouTube Home Page. Thanks also to Patsi for pointing out this song to me – which she remembered from Girl Scouts.

-Mama Lisa

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