I sing what I am moved to sing, seeking to make words and tune my own while respecting the tradition and history of the song and those who have sung it before. I work hard at understanding both.

I don't know the reasons Sal has for speaking so strongly but she seems a reasonable and friendly person in other posts and I assume she has reasons. I have been repulsed by singers who put on a false accent as I put on a pair of shoes, to be kicked off as they leave the stage. I've also been moved and enriched by the evidence of both personal and artistic connections a musician can discover with cultures and experiences that would seem to be far from his or her own life.

I do know I respond to the joy and effort a person puts into his or her music making. I also am more drawn to an honest attempt to retain the spirit and language of the song than I am to a person who appears to mimic dialect without understanding or respect or (horrors!) a person who pretends to be something he or she is not. There is a difference.

Let's be gentle with each other. There is a wealth of music and the fascination of different viewpoints waiting for us.

Regards,

maeve