"Where would we have been without you Jim?"
Don't twist what I say Hoot - I said "we" and in doing so I was referring to those who found folk song, decided it was important and worked at it, not those who came along later and decided they would rather do something else with the folk clubs that the first lot had worked so hard to set up
Why personalise it?

"Who do you mean by the 'you' in "you know one when you hear it", Jim? "
You too Andy?
I believe folk song has a recognisable uniqueness - the example I gave was a Sean Nós singer from the est of Ireland who shows himself capable of picking out traditional songs other languages
Anybody who has listened to MacColl's 'Song Carrier' programmes knows that he begins with two examples - an Azerbajani (I think a muezzin) singing an elaborate piece, which he then links to Irish singer, Paddy Tunney
Then he plays a Spaniard singing Canto Hondo and links it to Margaret Barry, an Irish street singer - the cultures are different but all have recognisable similarities, MacColl argues that it is the fact they are from traditional cultures that cause those - it's always worked for me

The sound of folk song is, of course, not the only thing that goes into the making of a tradition - there are many hundreds of works by people who have been researching the subject over the centuries to more than establish the fact - folk song is unique, it is different from any other art form
The "we" are those who believe that uniqueness is important and still relevant
Personalising things has become a way of avoiding argument, the favourite being "Jim's (or whosever's) definition"
I don't have a personal definition of folk song - there is a nearly two centuries old definition of "folk" which I believe still works
That's the one that identified the songs that established the folk revival and continued to do so till a few decades ago - we chose the clubs we went to because we knew more or less what music we would find there
That no longer applies and the term folk has become meaningless when applied to folk clubs
Can you tell be what I will find relating to folk when go to a folk club now? - I doubt it
Can you give me a workable alternative definition that will allow me to choose what I am seeking at a folk club? - if you can you will be the first

The folk scene has been subjected to a hostile takeover and an important art form has been put at risk
There was a danger of that happening in Ireland a few decades ago - hard work on the part of groups of dedicated people have turned that around and guaranteed an at least two generation survival of Irish traditional music and youngsters are now streaming into the music for the love of it
Can any of you say the same?

What is your definition of the music you are offering as "folk"
Once more - can we please stop personalising this and cut out the insulting ?
Jim Carroll