Hello SINSULL,

I don't think I have ever heard a folkie snicker at at missed notes and forgotten lyrics. Not a *real* folkie at any rate. Most feel for any singer who gets in a muddle or forgets words....however there are some, especially in England, who have very fixed ideas about what folk music is, ought to be and shall be ever afterwards. This is a shame really, as the folk process goes on around them un-noticed and steadily evolves.

Folk music is personal to the singer who sings it. Every song has a reason to be sung and memories that are evoked. There is a history and a tradition, but it is not sacred.

Best wishes,

Peter