"but I know from experience that they act as a unifying force within such movements." Exactly, I'm sure you are right, unifying but for one small group only, otherwise totally divisive on a broader scale! Sorry Jim, but I'm afraid that just comes over as a very selfish attitude, to me! Just as selfish & divisive and counter productive, as singing The Queen or The Soldier's Song at the end of, what could so easily be a sharing experience, when, once again, yet another wonderful opportunity for bringing people together ... is wasted! Anyone involved in playing Traditional Music knows only too well that so many of the tunes within the Irish & Scottish Music traditions have actually been shared down through the centuries. So a gathering of musicians up here is always a wonderful opportunity to explore, in a very casual & friendly way these shared tunes & how each has altered them, even slightly, to blend with their own tradition. For example, all the wonderful Scottish Strathspeys that the Donegal Fiddlers have turned into gorgeous Flings & Highlands! The Irish Jigs that the Flute Bands turn into Marches to play on the 12th. The list goes on & on. As I have always strived to run a very open & inclusive policy at my sessions here, I am delighted that a couple of members of an Orange Flute Band feel comfortable enough to come & sit in with us on a regular basis & over the years, we have learned a few of each others tunes. This is how it should be & usually is amongst traditional musicians who never discuss Politics or Religion at these sessions anyway, because in our view they have absolutely nothing to do with the music we are playing & we resent wholeheartedly those who would use those traditional melodies, that have been handed down in good faith, for any political purpose. At any such gathering, it would be absolutely unthinkable for some selfish, self centred bigot, to leap onto his Soapbox & fire off some old political tripe, at the assembly! Thank goodness people up here are finally learning to share what we all have in common & what can help to unite everyone up here. We don't want or need any Guitar brandishing 'lefties' sowing their distrust & hatred! There has been far too much of that here, in the past! As for Willie Week, I've been attending that since the mid 70s so I know exactly what goes on there. Perhaps you should visit the North more often Jim & find out what it's really like up here, first hand? "Anti-Viet Nam War songs" are all very well in London, but did you ever sing them in Vietnam? By the way, your "excellent talk on Dolly's Brae" was very likely given by a friend of mine J.M., so I have no doubt it was excellent & nothing if not totally accurate, as will be his talk on Northern Protestant songs & quite frankly no better man for the job. I just wish these political activists, who like to provoke through song, would just take a little more care to understand that there is a time & a place for everything. If they were half as smart as they think they are, & not so self centred, I have no doubt they would realise this. Cheers Dick
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