Sorry Howard - the claim is that they originated in print
I would have no problem with your interpretation whatever; other researchers, like Bob Thomson, who first drew out attention to the up-to-then underestimated number - his thesis was largely based on it.

You seem to be avoiding why you believe these songs were made for money than the natural result of people's experiences
I never get tired of repeating singer Joe Coneeley's statement, 'If a man farted in church in those days, somebody made a song about it".
Joe and his generation had a rich oral tradition to draw on for his song-making template
His repertoire included four rare Child ballads and a host of other songs, including the extremely rare in Ireland, 'Girl With a Box on her Head'
His immediate area contained a treasure trove of big classical storytellers
A far cry from the rapidly declining English scene of the early twentieth century
Jim Caarroll