"What about early blues? Are they folk songs? I think so."
They certainly are - you should try Alan Lomax's 'The Land where the Blues Began.
"Whether or not this is represented in English folk clubs remains to be demonstrated."
Never come across it if it does Bryan - I was told that it happened in Glasgow and I notice some of the groups are Irish.
Nearest I ever heard 'Alone' becoming a dolk song was w foreman at work telling me how he heard a bunch of Evertonians coming out of a match where Liverpool had been thrashed by Cologne, singing loudly, "You never wore Cologne DOWN" (shouted)
Jim Carroll