The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #97101 Message #1941519
Posted By: Marje
19-Jan-07 - 09:32 AM
Thread Name: BBC Folk Awards- Open and clear
Subject: RE: BBC Folk Awards- Open and clear
Seconded. Or thirded, or whatever. I don't believe for a moment that either Seth Lakeman or John Leonard could imagine that such a sycopated, guitar-reliant tune could be traditional, nor do I believe that he just "heard it in a pub as a boy" and remembered it. It's just not that sort of tune. And he must then have sat down and written the lyrics to fit the tune - the traditional story didn't just leap into metred verse all by itself. I suppose it was easier to call it all "trad" than to say: "Words by Seth Lakeman. Tune copied from someone but I can't remember who it was."
Well done, Dave, for drawing attention to it. Perhaps both the singer and the BBC will take a bit more care with their categories and their attributions in future.
Marje