Skipper Jack: "Traditional songs provide excellent material for students of social history."

They're also lots of fun to sing and play . . .



Phil Cooper: "Like any good song old or new"

Yes. This is equally true if it's folk or rock or classical or medieval or jazz or country . . .



Banjomad: "folk music is for any reason except making money."

So are you saying that folk song when played in a paid performance is no longer a folk song? Is an Irish jig played in a session in a pub or in the living room a folk tune, but if played on a stage in the same pub or practiced for a performance in the same living room suddenly not a folk tune? That seems silly.



Art Thieme: "it's so damn good to finally see a real thread about folk music here again that I figure this ought to be REFRESHED"

Yes, it is refreshing, isn't it? I've pretty much dropped out of Mudcat discussions because I have very limited time to read the computer and most threads are so choked with personal chit-chat and unwitty witticisms that I am unwilling to read through them in the hope of learning something or replying coherently.

John Peekstok