The question for me comes down to whether or not the song needs it, then whether I can pull it off. The Night Before Larry Was Stretched, and Finding of Moses come to mind. If you can't do the dialect, neither will come off as it should. In the Scottish tradition, there is a certain amount of brogue required to be able to do a number of Burns songs. But if a performer is trying to bring credit to the song, as opposed to trying to be something that (s)he is not, then it is incumbent on that person to research and practice mightily in order that they pay the proper respect to the people they are trying to emulate. Unfortunately many do not do this.

Some of the accent is natural for some folks, as in my case. I was raised around, and associated my whole life even up until now, with so many Irish and Scottish emigrants that certain small inflections are very natural to me. There is nothing phoney about it, it is akin to someone who lives in the Southern US, or Canada, after a while they pick up certain things.

But I do agree that there are far too many folks that have identity crises in their lives, and affect terrible accents. Feel bad for them.

All the best,

Mick