@ Jag. Hello.

I think I am going to stick by my point about Sharp.

Your quotation is of course an accurate quotation. But it does not for me fully sum up the concept of the 'common people'/'peasantry' as described by Sharp, which has been discussed on the Harker thread. And when I look closely at your quotation, it says 'lower classes' not 'lowest class'. I think this is important. It certainly does not 'labouring class'. Sharp's view was also closely linked with theories of race/nationality.

So for me, the assertion that Sharp thought folk songs were the product of 'working people' and that there was a consensus dating back to Child about who produced these songs is an oversimplification. And I have seen this statement made repeatedly on Mudcat.