The case of Walter Pardon, for me, supports entirely what Steve Roud says in his book, that ordinary people in England over the centuries sang songs from print traditions and were influenced by these, and that later recorded music and music from the USA were also influences.

I'm not sure about 'starry-eyed' or 'romantic' are complete descriptions of what has been going on here, but plainly there is a lot of romanticism and I am finding some of it patronising.

What is plain is that this thread isn't going to be allowed to discuss Roud's brilliant book because some people want to tell a different story.