I think that osme adaptation is sometimes necessary. If you look at "The Rigs of the Time", it becomes a litany of mid-Victorian moaning about price increases. However, in Martin Carthy's hands, it becomes a tool for expressing, and even inciting, anger - something the song was meant to do in the first place. If we cling slavishly to the old lyrics, it not only becomes stale but irrelevant. Updating it renews that relevance.

Carol