"As far a the 'old Scotch ballad, Barbara Allen' - there is a certain smugness in dismissing Pepys statement out-of-hand" I find it rather smug for you to have to keep referring back to traditional singers that you have collected from for the definition of a folk song, it is not just smug but self important, what you are in fact doing is making your definition exclusive, and excluding all the folk who sang but did not sing songs of the barbara allen type, for example you are excluding songs sung on football terraces, which under the precious 1954 definition become folk songs. it is perfectly reasonable for Jean Ritchie to have made this statement to guide her in collecting certain songs, it is not reasonable for anyone to then suggest this is the only definition of a folk song.
|