Lyrics & Knowledge Personal Pages Record Shop Auction Links Radio & Media Kids Membership Help
The Mudcat Cafesj



User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Phil Edwards What makes a new song a folk song? (1710* d) RE: What makes a new song a folk song? 03 Sep 14


Something we haven't really touched on so far is just how limited an audience there is (as in, little or none) for exclusively traditional songs, at least in Britain. I used to go to folk clubs where I'd hear a lot of Dylan, Hank Williams and Richard Thompson, a lot of new songs in the style of Dylan, Hank Williams and Richard Thompson, and a few traditional songs, mostly Irish rather than English. As I've got more into traditional songs myself I've gravitated towards singarounds, often with people who have been singing traditional songs for 30 years or more. No Dylan, no Hank and very little Richard Thompson - but I do hear a lot of MacColl, Tawney and Rosselson, not to mention new songs in the style of MacColl, Tawney and Rosselson. The proportion of traditional song is much higher: in the folk clubs I know the split is something like 10/50/40 trad/contemporary/new, vs 50/40/10 in the singarounds I go to. But the all-traditional (or even 90% traditional) singaround is a myth, sadly perhaps.


Post to this Thread -

Back to the Main Forum Page

By clicking on the User Name, you will requery the forum for that user. You will see everything that he or she has posted with that Mudcat name.

By clicking on the Thread Name, you will be sent to the Forum on that thread as if you selected it from the main Mudcat Forum page.
   * Click on the linked number with * to view the thread split into pages (click "d" for chronologically descending).

By clicking on the Subject, you will also go to the thread as if you selected it from the original Forum page, but also go directly to that particular message.

By clicking on the Date (Posted), you will dig out every message posted that day.

Try it all, you will see.