Hi Bardan,

Thanks for your apology! I must say that I wasn't really expecting one - because this forum can be a bit rough at times - but it is sincerely appreciated, all the same. I also hope that I didn't upset you too much either.

Just to provide a bit of perspective, you've probably gathered that I'm a bit passionate about traditional song and it's been an important part of my life for more years than I care to remember. Through my interest in this musical form I have met many fine people, over the years, and I can assure you that none of them remotely resemble policemen! None of us really wants to stop anyone from listening to anything and couldn't do so even if we wanted to.

I wonder if I could recommend something to you? See if you can find a recording of a singer called Enos White singing a song called 'George Collins' (it's on a CD called 'O'er His Grave the the Grass Grew Green - Tragic Ballads' Topic TSCD 653 - it's Volume 3 in Topic's 'Voice of the People' series). Enos was a 75 year old Hampshire farm labourer when this track was recorded in 1955. He was just an ordinary bloke (and sounds it) - but the song is extraordinary! It's about a man who meets what is possibly (and it's the ambiguity that I love) a water sprite or fairy - and she uses enchantment (possibly) to kill him. Not only is the text weird but the tune is as well - and all this issuing from the mouth of an otherwise very ordinary, elderly country man. Also note that the ballad is unlikely to have anything to do with with Enos's actual life - but it may say a lot about his inner life and his imagination.

Now I don't expect you to like this track - and I will think none the less of you if you hate it - but it might give you an inkling of where I'm coming from. You see once I got hooked on this sort of thing it changed my perspective on music completely (for good or for ill!). It also made we realise that we, in this country, have an amazing musical legacy which is at best too often derided and at worst too often ignored.