I have sung many songs that could be called "darky" songs, and it does not bother me at all to do so--I sing songs of Irish rebellion although ! never rattled a pike; I do not like fishing, but I sing songs of fishing; I have ridden horses and rounded up cattle, once, but never made a living at it, but I do not mind singing cowboy tunes--I enjoy them heartily. I have never been pregnant but have no reservation about singing "Careless Love".

It strikes me that the performance of a song must be done largely on its own terms, its own merits, and if you have insufficient empathy to do that, you should probably stick to your own ethnic niche. Unfortunately, this would limit me to Grace Kelley and Pat Boone top-of-the-charts, a total of about four songs.