MaJoC the Filk wrote: Methinks our esteemed guest Some Bloke has hit it right:

I will generally agree, but I don't entirely agree that that this is only a response to a "mixed" crowd hearing a traditional song. It can also be the response to someone singing a modern "folk" song.

If someone sings, say, "Ned Kelly's Farewell to Greta," I'll nod and say "Wow! Is that the tune?" -- and be singing along, because I know the text and just don't have a tune for it. While the "other half" wishes for something they know.

But if someone sings, say, a Bill Staines song from c. 1990, I will be the one wishing to hear something I know, while the "other half" will be thinking, "You're singing that too fast," or some such thing. Same response, different song type. It's what happens in crowds with different musical tastes!

Note, however, that if someone does sing "Ned Kelly's Farewell to Greta," it requires a degree of explanation, because Greta is not a woman but a place that Kelly called home. An Australian would know that, and would know who Ned Kelly was, or at least know the phrase "As game as Ned Kelly." Knowing the folklore of Ned Kelly is important to understanding Australia. So learning the song justifies explanation.

Or take "I Maun Hae a Wife," which is Scottish. Will everyone understand, without explanation, that "maun hae" means "must have"? Probably not. Could you "translate" it, and sing, "I must have a wife"? I suppose so, though it doesn't sing as well. But what are you going to do with the chorus, "Buy broom besoms, wha will buy them noo"? If you don't explain that, I suspect "besoms" will be interpreted as referring to the female anatomy -- but you can't turn that line into "Buy broom brooms..." because it sounds inane. So you have to either explain or let people misunderstand.

If explanation is not allowed, should we ignore an historically important song ("Ned Kelly's Farewell to Greta")? Should we ignore a hilarious song that just happens to be in a semi-foreign language ("I Maun Hae a Wife")? I suppose you could argue that these songs take more effort than some commercial navel-gazing song (although the navel-gazing may not make any more sense than the traditional song in a few years when climate change and idiot politicians have destroyed our present society). But you know what: I want to understand Australia. I want to know what Scots find funny. Just because I'm American doesn't mean that I hate them stupid furriners who talk funny and don't care for the NFL.

Sure, you can sometimes do a song without explanations. But I am not interested in easy music. Pleasant music, yes, but pleasant and easy are not correlated concepts.