It is essential to bear in mind the distinction between what collectors wrote down and what they were able to publish. Many traditional songs would have fallen foul of the Obscene Publications Act.

As for their attitudes - imagine you find an old singer with a repertoire of unknown songs - and many of them are so breathtakingly racist you can't even bring yourself to say their titles. What would you do? (The N word occurs in some shanties - would you sing it or censor it?)