Of course this whole discussion suffers from the delusion that there's ONE definition that can possibly serve. 'Fraid not. There was at some early, unpolluted, halcyon day a time when "the old-time definition" that Art Thieme sings so eloquently about was correct, and moreover sufficient. .. In this latter day, however, the field has been talked over and the concept muddied and muddled so much, by speakers and writers with so many different points of view, and often so little contact with either "the folk" or with music, that there's no putting Humpty-Dumpty together again. .. Face it, kids, the expression "folk song" or "folk music" has been poisoned. You can no longer use those terms without further explanation and be confident the correct meaning--whatever it may be in your case--will be communicated. .. There. I may have just killed this thread.

Dave Oesterreich