Thomas, You write,"IMHO, we must sing in our own voice if we are to convey meaning... "If we do 'other people's songs', and traditional songs would be in this category for the time being, we might forget to sing from our own souls."
What you're saying bothers me. I'm not much of a songwriter. I've written a very few over the years, but mostly they're forgettable efforts. However, when I sing a song that I've picked up from the Public Domain such as "Omie Wise" or from a songwriter of recent past or now, such as Pete Seeger's "Well May the World Go" or Richard Shindell's "Speaking with the Angel", I only sing them because they resonate strongly with me. In fact, much more strongly than those that I've written myself.
Maybe I'm missing something in what you're saying, but what I'm getting is that you chastise those of us without your gift for writing even though we are able to speak honestly from our souls using others words. You've got a great gift, I'm sure in your writing. Isn't it possible, though that I (and others) have a gift as well for using traditional (and non-traditional) songs to convey something of worth?
- Sean
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