"No he didn't."
Little - old Scotch song - a bit pedantic Bryan
The point I was making is that nobody knew then or still does know the origin of the song and was is kite-flying to suggest that it was written for the stage, jus as it was kite flying to suggest that Trees the Grow so High was related to the marriage of Lord Craigston
The circumstances outlined in all of these songs is international and universal and could have originated anywhere at any point in history
Pepys entry suggests nothing of the sort
The Birdy Song, Freeborn Man and Willie McBride are not folk songs by a definition anybody clings to - the author of one of them stated quite clearly that his composition was not - who here has the right to contradict him?
In order to make them folk songs you need to re-define the genre and get that re-definition widely accepted - any blind man can call an elephant a rope.
The aim of all these arguments is to abandon all attempts at defining folk song so that the folk clubs can continue to be used as cultural dustbins
I confess I was somewhat disappointed when your club rejected my offer of our collection - I've come to the conclusion that we had a lucky escape.
"I'd say Britten's sounds as folky as any of them;"
I BEG TO DIFFER
"Jim, it's apparently all down to whether you consider a song worthy,
It doesn't quack, it doesn't waddle, it ain't a duck, and introducing it onto the folk scene lays all clubs open to PRS and IMRO charges
It bears no resemblance to any folk song not to any song written in the folk idiom
"No answers, just same old. Yawn."
None that suit you guest so why not go back to bed - you obviously have a problem staying awake
Jim Carroll