The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #99963 Message #2002269
Posted By: GUEST,Shimrod
20-Mar-07 - 01:32 PM
Thread Name: It isn't 'Folk', but what is it we do?
Subject: RE: It isn't 'Folk', but what is it we do?
"Suppose that we reserve the T-word for songs of unknown authorship, which have survived generations of oral transmission. And suppose that we then apply the F-word to songs - whatever their origin - that the people of a specific community sing regularly, and acknowledge as their own."
As Malcolm Douglas ably pointed out recently (on another thread, I think) the question of authorship doesn't come into it. Any song can become 'traditional' if it is sung by a particular type of community over a long enough period.