The Cap'n has a point.

I was listening to the BBC Programme about Paul Simon's time in the UK last night and they played excerpts from the Martin Carthy and Paul Simon versions of Scarborough Fair next to each other. It was quite clear from that that it was not the text that was at issue but the guitar accompaniment. Paul Simon's guitar accompaniment was effectively identical note for note to Martin Carthy's. An arrangement is not just about the text, but about musical setting that has been used.

Martin Carthy appeared on the programme and it was clear that at one point he was fuming about this particular track. It all hinged on a lack of acknowledgment, the importance of which has been stressed a number of times on this thread.

Guest,Rev makes a number of valuable points. Although I am not a folklorist, I did do quite a bit of interviewing students to try and understand how they approached their studies and the ethical points that Rev was making in his post have a distinctly familiar ring. The points he makes about ownership are very pertinent.