What surprises me sometimes is how quickly something can change. Someone recently asked permission to record one of my songs. It came to light that she had changed it to fit her needs (a yoga class) which was fine with me, so long as she used the word 'adapted' along with my name in the credits. By change, I mean thatit started out as quite a simple little song 16 bars long, but the way she taught it to her classes was by leaving out a chunk of the song - reducing it to half of that, and she changed a couple of the words as well. However, it was still recognizably mine.

As an early childhood music teacher for many years, I have often changed songs to fit my needs and wants. I tried to keep notes of what I'd done and what the original source was, but I'm sure that they were changed again as they went from my classroom into each child's home or playground. I think that's the natural evolution of folk music, and the stories we share of who started what song when and for what purpose is often evasive.

Which is not to say we shouldn't or wouldn't keep sharing the knowledge and stories and myths we know. That's what keeps the history so alive and interesting.

~b.w.