I have to way that I agree with Willie-o's comments in the DT Study thread:

Thread #48865   Message #1060676
Posted By: Willie-O
25-Nov-03 - 01:22 PM
Thread Name: DTStudy: The Dark Island
Subject: RE: DTStudy: The Dark Island


Oh man, this has totally given me a headache, more so every time someone tries to explain that "my father" wrote the "correct" or "official" version, without clarifying which version they mean. Sorry mates, I still don't get what you're after legally--royalties or just corrected credit, or suppressing certain versions which you consider inferior or a copyright infringement?   

But what I've really just been trying to figure out: is South Uist the Dark Island? Or is it a real place at all? Or....?

W-O

We who sing, just want to sing the songs. We don't want to get bogged down in legal battling over who has rights to what. We just want to sing the frickin' song. Lots of people won't touch "Dark Island" because there's too much squabbling over it, and too much uncertainty over who owns what rights. "Mingulay Boat Song" is another one - It was written by Hugh Roberton, but who owns it now? And what about the blues songs of the 1920s and 1930s, or the songs claimed to be "Carter Family" songs?

I'm all for paying songwriters for what they wrote - within limits.

Seems to me that "Dark Island" is a very engaging tune, and several people wrote lyrics to it of varying value. The version I prefer is "Isle of my childhood..." - but who owns it? And for this song, the lyrics are mostly forgettable, and it's the melody what people like. And who owns the melody? Isn't it traditional?

I just finished editing a songbook with 1200 songs, and I'm the one who got copyright permissions on the songs that were difficult to license. Most of the copyright holders were gracious and cooperative, there were a few "old gits" who made it difficult or impossible for us to print the lyrics and chords to their songs. At times, it could be aggravating. And it really possed me off when we had to pay royalties that were 100 years old, but some corporation had finagled a way to squeeze royalties out it anyhow. I can track Little Moses to 1840, but don't try to record the song without paying royalties to the Peer/Carter Family organization.

-Joe-