Just re-read what I wrote and of course, its rubbish - still that's what mudcat's about - aplace where you can talk rubbish.

Of course Plains of Waterloo is a great human document. And its as much wish fulfilment as Somewhere Over the rainbow.

In those days . as now - people went off to the war and got ruined every which way. Life didn't supply the happy endings - so songs had to.

Rather like the New Deserter. In life the bloke got shot - in folksong, Prince albert comes up and saves him. And there is passion there. We should not be singing anything just because its dull and worthy and its tradtional.

And a lot of people - not just floorsingers - are doing just that.