I think it's fine to look for and study the origins and the stories behind the songs. It appeals to me and I think it enhances my enjoyment of the music. But let's face it, such pursuits are not artistic, rather they are scholarly, which again is a fine thing if that's what one loves. But it's just that I've seen a number of my musical friends over the last few decades that took up this scholarly approach with such zeal that they became really boring as musicians, as artists, and sometimes as social company. From my point of view some moderation is in order. The friends I mentioned, who tend to be fiddlers, sometimes won't play a song unless they know at least one verifiable title for it. For me, I couldn't care less. If it's fun I'll play it. Most of the traditional tunes that I've been playing for a long time I don't even know a title for anymore, so if it comes up I just make one up. ("oysters in the henhouse" or some such. I'm truly not trying to convert anyone to this point of view, except to hold forth that scholarship and artistry, both admirable, are not the same thing.

Hard to be articulate on Friday night, Chet W.