Bardan,

God, this is so tedious - and I should really make you do the work yourself (but you're not really interested in anything but Rock music, are you?).

Here's a fuller list:

'Scarborough Fair' ('The Elfin Knight' - Child 2.)

and

'Seven Knights Drunk' ('Our Goodman' - Child 274.)

were both pop hits in the second half of the 20th Century as was 'Strawberry Fair'.

Songs like 'The Flash Lad', 'The False Bride', 'Barabara Allen', 'The Princess Royal', 'The Grey Cock' etc., etc. all lingered on into the second half of the Twentieth Century and, of course, are still sung in folk clubs by people like me!

As for the question of why you should want music you like labelled as 'Folk' - this continues to baffle me! When I first attended folk clubs in the late 60s I encountered these old songs which were so much more exciting and meaningful to me than commercial pop music. They were called (at that time uncontroversially) 'Folk' or 'Traditional' songs and they made a refreshing change from pop and rock-n-roll (which I had disliked since childhood). Now there seems to be a vociferous group who seem to be desperate to replace the old songs with rock-inspired ones. You keep moaning on as though you were the victims of some monstrous conspiracy to stop you singing or listening to the stuff that you like - but that is ridiculous - as a moment's thought should tell you. You are perfectly at liberty to sing, play or listen to anything you like - I CAN'T stop you - but if you call it 'folk music' I will disagree with you. What's the matter, can't cope with someone disagreeing with your precious opinions? People disagree with me all the time - I either ignore them or, if I think that they have a point, I alter my opinion - it's as simple as that!

The image you present at the moment is of some sleazy salesman who turns up a someone's door and tries to persuade them to replace their cabinet of priceless ceramics with a load of plastic tupperware. When the owner of the ceramics refuses you start insulting them (telling them that they "should be sitting in caves banging rocks on deerskulls" etc.). Naturally, the ceramics owner tells you what you can do with your tupperware! It's no way to win an an argument.

As for "...killing the whole genre of music" - I'm sorry but that really is a dumb remark! How many fans of traditional song do you think there are in this country (a couple of thousand? Or is that an overestimate?). How on earth are we going to put an end to all music (if that's what you mean), even if we wanted to? If 'music' is really being killed it is more likely to be as a result of the policies of the big commercial recording companies - save your wrath for them!