Uh-oh, I have shot myself in the foot here. When I wrote that last post I was semi-awake, rushing to get ready to drive 400 miles ,trying to have breakfast and scan the Mudcat postings at the same time.

First of all let me apologize sincerely to Auxiris for what on re-reading was a very grumpy posting. Please be assured I did not mean any personal slight whatsoever.

The thing is, "Hard Times Come Again No More" (full title) has always been a very special song for me. It was one of the first songs I learnt as a child and was regularly sung in our house in Scotland, (in the style of a Gaelic psalm, for those familiar with that tradition.)

Every single line of that song has a special relevance for me. As a small child in post-war Scotland I saw many hungry faces, and when I sang it for the last time in Scotland, at my mother's burial in a small seaside cemetery, believe me the verse about the pale drooping maiden toiling her life away never seemed more fitting and appropriate, as did the last verse.

So please forgive me my knee-jerk reaction to what was a well-intentioned posting from Auxiris. On re-reading his verses they are actually well written, and I too would like to who composed them.

Your anally retentive assholic amateur folklorist will now retire back into his library to catch up on some much- needed sleep ..........