I don't know The Man of Burningham Town, and based on your description, I don't think I want to. Lucky for me, however, I'm under no obligation to learn or sing every song out there.

Which, of course, brings us back to the opening question of this thread. Personally, I don't think misogyny is more prevalent in trad than any other human sentiment. When you have a genre that, by it's very nature, has contributors from every segment of human society, you'll get a body of songs as wide and varied as humans themselves.

I just refreshed this thread because I was surprised that the song I'd been singing as an anthem of women's strength didn't quite read that way in the "Official" version frozen in text.

The moral of this story (perhaps)? The singer gives at least as much meaning to a song as the lyrics or the melody.