I think just about every folk song and ballad collector who drew breath, going back to Bishop Percy and beyond, was convinced that they were witnessing the death throes of folk music and needed to get it written down in order to preserve it, i.e. "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry" and other such titles for some of the earlier collections. Sharp also. And the Lomaxes. "Get it down now, because it's just about all over!"

Wasn't it Mark Twain who commented that the reports of his death were somewhat exaggerated?

Don Firth