I absolutely agree that, done badly, it is akin to nails on a chalkboard. But remember that some of us learned this stuff from family members. Hence the brogue, regional variations and all, is somewhat intact. And it is no more phoney to me than speaking is. It is the way my family passed it on to me. To be sure, it is inflected with my status as a Yank, but I am not doing this to be pretentious. It is how I learned to sing this music over a lifetime. Testament to how well it is done can be found in the very large numbers of ex-pats who come to my shows on a regular basis.

In fact I think therein lies a clue to the answer. If a person's reason is a pretentious one, then they shouldn't be doing this. These are the one's that make someone like Murray cringe. Some of us, despite being raised in the States come from a very ethnic background heavily influenced by the immigrant population around us.

All the best,

Mick