SOME of the stuff written in Broad Scots or one of the many local dialects of English found across Britain simply cannot be pronounced, let alone sung, without the correct inflection - This can sometimes sound like one attempting to "do" an accent.

I tend to sing songs the way I learned them - If I got it off a Scot, I tend to adapt his inflections. I see it as part of the tradition OF the song itself. (eg., "I got this from Hamish X who had it from Ian Y who had it from Duncan Z. Duncan wrote the song for his father's brother's half-sister who was born in Dumfries and had a son that...") Giving a little introduction either on stage or in a session does a couple of things - if tells the story of the song (as opposed to the story the song is telling) and in a session, if the players have a clue, will illuminate the question of accompanying the song or not. For the audience listening, it ties them into the tradition of the song and makes them part of the story itself.

Some things simply don't work with an American accent. "If you can say 'It is a very brightly moon lit night'..." simply doesn't work in place of "If ye can say 'It's a braw bricht moon-licht nicht'..."

Ye ken?

Back to work -

Pete