The questions of accuracy raised about the lyrics left me uncertain just what was the "original" version of what I once called "If You Will Weave Me" but now concur with everyone else in calling "Web of Birdsong"-- since over the years I've sung various versions (mostly because I forget lyrics easily and make things up on the spot).

So out of curiosity I went back to the source. I wrote the song in 1957, sang it publicly a while, then eliminated one verse (note below) and finally finished it in May 1958 -- it's the 1958 copy I now have.

Note: For various reasons I eliminated the "cobweb child" verse, which was in my earliest version, and I prefer not to repeat it here. I have never sung it since, but others who picked it up early on have continued to use it.

This is how it began and how I sang it when it first circulated (minus that verse). Since then I'm responsible for some of the variants, while others have changed the song further.

WEB OF BIRDSONG
By Hilda Conkling (first verse, as "Promise") and Bob Coltman (remaining verses and tune):

If you will weave me a web of birdsong from the thrush or the linnet,
Then you shall have my heart and hand and all the love there's in it,
If you will weave me a scallop-shell, purple as violets in May,
I'll belong to you and only you, and never go away.

If you will buy me a green grass basket to carry our hearts' love in,
Then you shall have the love I bear to lock with a silver pin,
If you will buy me a cloak of kisses to cover on a rainy day,
I'll belong to you and only you and never go away.

If you will build me a stout strong boat to sail on the waters so wide,
Then I shall sail the seas of love and you shall ride inside,
If you will build me a house of moonbeams that stands in a sunny day,
I'll belong to you and only you, and never go away.

If you will love me more than fully, and longer than forever,
Then we two shall married be by a knot that none can sever,
If you will love me in the night and love me in the day,
I'll belong to you and only you, and never go away.