Does it matter if we know the original author of a song?   They all originated somewhere, whether from an individual in a village pub, a group of farmers on a street corner, or a broadside hack. Jim's evidence tells us that his sources didn't regard the origin as being important, but if the origin were to be known, would that alter the status of those songs within the local tradition? Surely not. A song's status as traditional or otherwise cannot depend on the extent of our own knowledge or depth of academic research. The Wild Rover, which surely ticks all the boxes to be a folk song, cannot be disqualified simply because a researcher has now identified the original version.

Surely what is significant is what happens to a song after it has been created. It either passes into the tradition, where it may be susceptible to change, either through faulty memory, mondegreens, or deliberate reworking, or it may be forgotten.