Thanks for all the responses, some interesting stuff among the regrettable troll-feeding. My question about the working class origin of trad songs was probably a little provocative. After all, who wrote the song is a lot less important than who chose keep on singing it and to pass it on to the next generation.

I would say that in Britain the class structure is something that fascinates us more than it restricts us. I do think that a lot of attitudes on the working/middle class divide are based on rather vague and perhaps outdated concepts of what the terms mean. Jim has mentioned that he's an electrician. Is that a lower class occupation? I'd say decidedly not: it's highly skilled and a good living can be made. The idea that white collar jobs are middle class is surely no longer valid. Wouldn't a job in a call centre be the modern example of the lower class occupation? They're not horny-handed sons of toil, but they presumably can appreciate a song of a downtrodden collier just as much as a plumber or plasterer.