Alan,

I like your perspective!

Songs fall away from the collective mind-set of the culture through disuse, of course. I think what Harvey was speaking to is the joy of having a song used and circulated, once written -- after all they were created to communicate. A message never sent is, indeed, a dying message, which fades from memory over time, no matter how lovely it once was. Few people know all the words to "After the Ball is Over", even though it was once a smash hit, or "Don't Hit Your Mother, Boys, Just 'Cuz She's Old", or "Father, Dear Father, Come Home With Me Now". These were all fairly well known songs between, say, 1890 and 1920. Major cultural shifts meant they got displaced by other styles and other memes.

In fifty years, or less, I expect no-one will remember the words to "You Butterfly", "Lollipop, Lollipop", "THis Old House", "Boom! Whatcha Do to Me!", "Honeycomb" or "Green Door", which captured the sentiments of the post-war (WW2) American youth. UNLESS, for some strange reason, a small handful of proponents start singing them widely!

A