Since I have been searching lately to see whether some songs being requested from me are really by unknown authors, I began to think it would be helpful to have a prefix here for threads searching on whether a song is in the public domain. For those of us who are performing and publishing what we think is traditional music or our adptation of a traditional song, it would be good to know whether there is a 'known author' and whether the song is in the public domain. Who would have thought when I asked about Spancilhill that there really was the complete story about Michael Considine that Robbie McMahon provided? With so many recorded and published products with the non-original Spancilhill lyrics, it seemed to everyone that the song was an old trad song.

I think it was a real sroke of luck that Frank McGrath was reading the Mudcat and made the connection, but I am wondering how many other songs have a copyright or at least a known origin that many of us assume are traditional old songs.

I'm sure there are more "stories" behind the lyrics of songs that many of us think are lost stories, and just maybe someone who enters the Mudcat could provide the answer. This would be helpful to writers who are concerned about their own lyrics being preserved with their name as well as performers knowing whether or not the songs they are singing are in the public domain.

So, my first query about whether there is a known author is for "Kitty of Coleraine". It's from county Derry. "Oh, Barney McCleary, you're sent as a plague..." Anyone have any idea how old this song is? My printed source does not provide an author. I'll start a thread with that query and the title if no one provides it here.

alice