"I'd never laugh at a song that's delighted as many people as "Grandfather's Clock." " - I'm sure that would take Henry C Work aback - it's meant to raise a few chuckles. Sentimental, but funny with it.

The categories overlap of course. If you think of Woody Guthries songs like Ludlow Massacre there's a strong story and a strong political message tied up together. You get that with any number of Irish songs too - the Foggy Dew isn't just an account of the Easter Rising, it's a call to arms. Arthur MacBride is a funny story, and it's an anti-cponscription and recruitment song.

Or you get songs that on the face of them are love songs, or even about nature, like The Green Linnet, which are really about political events.

How I'd see it is not so much what category songs fall into, but rather what might be your reason for making up or finding a song - which means for a start a break between a song that is primarily for dancing, and one that primarily for listening to. Then the listening somgs might be songs you'd want to sing on a march or a picket, and songs you'd sing to someone you were in love with, or to cheer yourself up when you've been dumped... and so forth.