Mudcat Café Message

sj

User Name	Thread Name	Subject	Posted
Lighter	New Book: Folk Song in England (2094* d)	RE: New Book: Folk Song in England	15 Dec 17
Hmmm. I find no Roud number for "The Coal-owner and the Pitman's Wife." If the song never entered "tradition" before it was unearthed in 1951, was it a folk song? Is it now? Do we know if, in its day, it was ever sung as a song rather than merely recited as a poem? How many singers must there be before a song can be considered "traditional"? Doesn't tradition imply some degree of popularity? "Searching for Lambs" and "The Outlandish Knight," however, are well and widely attested as songs, with numerous folk variations. So, if "tradition" is a criterion, what (other than wishful thinking) places "The Coal-owner" in the same category ("folk song" or "traditional song") as the other two? Not being contentious. Just thinking aloud....

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