Rick hit the nail on the head when he put "commercial" in caps. Some publishers "pass off" songs as whatever they think will sell best. And, unlike Big Mick, I think that's worth a grumble.

If I bought a book of English songs and found it full of songs by Tom Paxton (who happens to spend a fair amount of time in England) I'd be a bit miffed - if only because I hadn't got what I was expecting. Likewise if I bought a book of Irish songs and found it had songs like "Shoals of Herring" (written by a Lancastrian who claimed to be Scottish) I'd be slightly annoyed. Beside me as I type, there is a copy of David Hammond's booklet, "Songs of Belfast." It's quite a shoddy effort in somes ways, but - lo and behold! - it contains exactly the sort of songs I'd expect from the title.

Fiolar, I think you misread the first post -language didn't come into it.