I am definitely not in favor of "Reader's Digest Condensed Folk Songs." I do sing some long suckers. "Barbara Allen" gets the full treatment as I learned it from a song book that had pretty complete versions of most of the songs it contained. I've seen longer versions of B. A., but I've also seen ones a lot shorter. In the version I learned, it tells the complete story and I can't see that there is any way it could be improved by cutting. In fact, it never occurred to me to try to cut it, because it's all there and everything that's there is a necessary part of the story.

Believe me, I am most definitely not advocating cutting songs unless the cuts would tighten up the story and reduce a given song's boredom factor (endless repetition that adds nothing to the story).

Songs with choruses? If the audience feels like singing along, let 'er rip! I recall a memorable occasion when I managed to stretch "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor" out for better than a half-hour. People started making up verses and they were having a ball, so I went with it. (Got pretty raunchy before we ran out of steam!)

Don Firth