Midchuck, I suspect we agree for the most part. Your use of the word "piracy" suggested a copyright law context: "piracy" usually means copyright infringement (I think it's a terrible word. Piracy strictly so-called is an atrocious crime. Copyright infringement is simply a violation of an arbitrary regulatory scheme, like moonshining.) I was merely pointing out that, if there is no copyright, there is no infringement.

The question of giving credit is not always clear-cut. At least in cases where there is no chance of confusion (George M. Cohan's use of "Auld Lang Syne" in "You're a Grand Old Flag") I don't see any need for explicit citation. But I prefer, as you and Sandy do, to document my sources clearly. (One gripe I have against the copyright office is that the registration forms don't allow room to do this properly--would it be so hard for them to allow us to attach a single extra page showing the p.d. version of the melody ?--"here's the trad. tune, here are my changes"--their paperwork wouldn't increase by much, and the extent of the copyright claims would be much clearer. End of gripe.)

T.