Conán, I think singer-songwriter Tom Russell would agree with you about the poem. He makes no attempt to enhance or alter it. His album is kind of a musical family tree, and it explains the link he has to the poem. Click here and here for previous discussions, and for the poem itself.

I heard Tom Russell's "Man From God Knows Where" concert in Denver a year ago. Has he been doing anything new since then?
-Joe Offer-