could I just quote my (w)hoary old website (fredbaileymusic.com)??

If there's a pattern in here anywhere, it's just that I've always been fascinated by songs telling stories about those forgotten little footnotes of history, or about the lives of ordinary people. Society will invariably organize institutions to document, for better or worse, the larger of our cultural achievements. But just try to imagine, if you will, how easily we could have lost such legendary icons as: Casey Jones, Tom Dooley, John Henry, Stagolee, Frankie and Johnnie? (Or better yet, try to imagine some of those that actually were lost!) ..... in each case the singer-songwriter was moved by direct observation of and reaction to those events and lives that were unfolding around him (or at least the persistent re-telling of the stories). Thus it follows that, in each case, we are deeply and historically indebted to some long-forgotten and simple fool who just happened to be standing around, humming snatches of melody under his breath while he reached for an instrument ...... This is why that indefineable thing that we call "folk music" will always be with us. It is not just a simple category of music, but an integral part of historical and cultural processes of almost atavistic impact. In the long march of civilization, there can be no more insightful story, because it simply IS our story.

thanx for the soapbox -- this has been my rant for years