"Where is this quote from, Jim? I haven't come across it in my research"
I honestly can't remember Brian - it was a well circulated story back in the day; I suspect I first heard it from Bert but he certainly wasn't the only one to relate the story
I think I am right in saying he didn't collect from black informants in the Appalachians, but I confess I've never checked
I'm not sure of this but I don't think 'Nigger' wasn't the term of abuse it is now

Pseu
Regarding forieign influences into our cultures, Wimberley's 'Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads' makes an interesting read.
Literature certainly played a part in 'foreign' influences, but looking at our copy of Priors translation of Danish Ballads, I can't spot a singable version in any of the three volumes
They are every bit as bad as the broadsides, which suggests tampering and invention by the translator rather than the real stuff
Jim