"The clubs emptied when they stopped presenting what it said on the label."Jim Carroll.
I want to make it clear I have never met Jim Carroll, and have no personal animosity,I find myself continuously disagreeing with sweeping generalisations made by him , which he rarely is able to back up with evidence, an example is his quote above.
Firstly no one on this forum has been able to define folk song, secondly, I am sure I visit folk clubs more often than jim carroll, and i can categorically state that in the folk clubs that i get booked in, my repertoire, and the repertoire of the performers I have heard in those folk clubs, are either traditional folk songs or songs by contemporary songwriters such as MacColl , Seeger,Twney, Lowe, Rosselson, Peter Bond, Bill Caddick.,PeteCoe, song wirters who are generally considered to be writing in a style based on the tradition. Jim you are clearly, out of touch with the english folk club scene, your one experience cannot be takenas the norm ,you are generalising from the particular.