Mbo, don't worry about Tom Paxton. He got it right. But people who sing the same songs unaccompanied are getting it right too. The trick lies in recognizing that both kinds of singing are challenging, and both have merit. And for certain songs, the traditional presentation is unaccompanied. So if you've gone out looking for a traditional presentation, accompaniment is jarring to you.

It's like illustrations in childrens books. For most people the first picture they saw of the three little pigs will forever define the "right way" to draw them. It takes a lot of work to decide that "pigs is pigs", and appreciate a broad variety of interpretations. And even when we've learned to appreciate new ways of seeing things, in our secret hearts we still _know_ what's "right."