yes strange that Carthy should say that. he has worked so hard and so committedly for folk music, and yet.....

his style must mystify and defeat many listeners, bound up as it is with all the beliefs of AL Lloyd - belief about English music being modal in nature, the English peasant having a wavering tone to their voice reflecting the trauma of the land enclosures, folk song singing and creation being the music of a minority etc - all the stuff in folk song in England.

this is not a criticism of martin. He is a great musician - a far more divergent thinker (even just as a guitarist) than many of his fans realise. When a man of that level of ability decides to do that with his life, you have to respect him.

yet when he said only people like me know about stuff like the lyrics of a song about Waterloo - I couldn't help thinking - couldn't this because of the way you present the song