Now we are in the merry month of May it seems appropriate that the song for the week is Death & The Lady.

This song is about an encounter with Death & a young woman on a May morning. The books call it ‘a prime example of the Danse Macabre tradition.’ In the middle ages, the Dance of Death & the dialogue between Death & his victim used to be enacted as astage morality. This ballad dates can be traced to a 17th century broadside ‘A Dialogue Between Death & The Lady’ which was widely distributed in England. It may have been a 16th century dialogue ballad, originally both sung & acted. It was collected widely in England, found once in Belfast & varients were found by Cecil Sharp on his Appalacian adventures.

I really like this song. It carries a chill with it.

This performance comes from my album, Constant Companion, which you can hear if you follow this link.