>> The primary obligation of the artist is to make the material live. <<

Yes. Because if we lose our audience then it doesn't much matter what the hell we are singing to them.

A little mea culpa: years ago I doctored the final verse of "the Oldham White Hare" (a song which might well have undergone some previous doctoring, incidentally) in order to close it with a mildly anti-blood-sports sentiment. Nobody minded - my audiences probably enjoyed it more because of that, and I came out of it looking proper right-on. Nonetheless, that wasn't really what the song was all about originally. Perhpas I'm more sensitive about this kind of thing having given workshops explaining the history behind the songs, as opposed to doing nothing more that entertain audiences, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that kind of thing any more.

>> The originals will still be there in the library for the historian and researcher <<

By and large, yes. Although this thread has pointed out one or two instances where the 'originals' have proved rather elusive. But the problem is where a general perception takes over (e.g. when a doctored song becomes the standard version, in our little world at least) that it at odds with the actual hisotry.

Did I get the 200 (as if I care, really)?