This discussion reminds me of what the old woman said when her husband climbed down off the merry-go-round: "Well, you rode, and you rode, and you rode, and where you been?"

The more I read, the more I realize I'm even more a hide-bound traditionalist than Elsie. I hear you talking about singers-songwriters who do nothing but their own material as if they were truly performing folk music. Sorry, kids, that don't cut it. Where is the staying power of this music? We don't know, because it's too new. Once again, folk music must have passed the test of time. Wazzat, you ask? For me, it's at least three generations. If it was written in your grandfather's day and people - people, not just professional singers - are still singing it, it probably qualifies. And that, Elsie, is why I insist that the definition depends on the age of the definer. For you, "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah," may be folk music. It was written (probably)in your grandfather's generation. I'm not going to argue about it - I'm just not going to buy it.