The recent thread titled "What makes a new song a folk song?" has generated the usual categorizing once again. The label "folk song" suffices to put us on that well-trodden track.

What I find more interesting is the question "Which songs are sung by many people without musical training, and why?" Conditions:

• Singing must include lyrics, at least of one full verse,
• singing must not rely on electronic or professional accompaniment,
• it must be done purely for pleasure, which excludes hymns, carols, and anthems of all kinds;
• by "many" I mean many more than the number of "RUS" copies, not just old people or people with a special background such as scouting.

A list of English songs would include a few Beatles songs, notably "Yesterday" and "Yellow Submarine" ...