I think their is a lot in the point you make JTT but some songs are more or less a bit old and some are traditional.

What do we claim for songs we believe to be, by Greg's definition, traditional? I think they are special because lots of people have contribiuted to them, through the oral tradition, and so they have something of the history and culture of of those people and their culture.

A clear example would be Sea Shanties.