Still loving this thread, so can I throw another question into the mix?

I think I can see a way forwards in terms of singing and interpreting solo unaccompanied ballads. My approach tends to include, among other things, leaving myself quite a lot of room to manouvre (sp?) so that I potentially sing a song quite differently each time in terms of pace, phrasing, etc.

I've recently started singing with a partner, though, and find that this doesn't work so well as we need to more or less settle more on one version to be able to sing well together. At the moment one of us tends to take the lead, develop a version and then teach the other, which works to some extent, but I'm wondering what approaches other people take to joint balladry? Thanks for any advice!