Origins are quite important to me. I want to know both the meaning and the cultural context of what I'm singing.

I never want to answer with "I dunno", nor do I want to attribute a song incorrectly. That's not to say I haven't, but I try very hard to avoid it.

A few years ago we were given a song which, on the face of it, appeared to be a hunting song from the American south. Something gave me a funny feeling and I began to dig. One of the opinions I gathered about the origin of the song was "It doesn't matter what the song's origin is, figure out how the song makes you feel, make it yours, and then sing it". Had I heeded that advice, we would now be singing a song celebrating the delights of capturing runaway slaves.

Origins matter.

D