IMHO songs are songs. A lot of the folk music I have heard has been performed by English singers at local song sessions. From those singers I have learned songs like Step It Out Mary, Fields Of Athenry, Glencoe, The Silver Darlings, the list is long. These songs were sung in the accent of the singer, not that of the country it came from. I am glad that there hasn't been a rule that only Irish or Scottish singers could attempt to sing their own country's songs. If that were the case I would have missed out on a lot of good music.

The same goes for the USA, where I now live. The people I associate with in folk circles are, for the major part, at least third generation Americans. Their musical interests are diverse - including English, Scots, Irish and Welsh music as well as American music from all parts of this very large land. It is the exception to the rule that anyone feels the need to sing in an accent other than their own, but that does not detract from the enjoyment of the song.

The one thing I have noticed though is that Americans are more interested in their roots than most of the British people that I know. A fair number of Americans, in the areas I have moved in, will be able to recite their national lineage going back to the ancestors who emigrated to America. Most of my UK acquaintances couldn't say, and don't seem to care, what part of the UK their antecedents originated from.

Oh, and yes - I agree about the Dick Van Dyke fiasco. Much better, unless you can do a very good job of it, not to try and ape a different accent. It just ends up sounding ridiculous.