The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #108389   Message #2587352
Posted By: Brian Peters
12-Mar-09 - 03:01 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: supernatural gone from american songs
Subject: RE: Folklore: supernatural gone from american songs
That would be useful, Michael. It would be good to have some hard evidence. Incidentally, what of all those 'talking birds' I mentioned earlier? Do we rationalize them as parrots (as some singers indeed did) or are they to be regarded as supernatural?

Another question to ponder is: at what point does an 'abbreviated' ballad become a 'half-remembered fragment'?