Diva,

Is it not the case that 'traditional' folksong, as opposed to other types of folk song is that which is passed down, by word of mouth, from one generation to the next. The point is that everytime the song is learnt, it is changed slightly, to suit the singers ideological viewpoint concerning whatever the song is about - and also to fill in gaps where the singer has forgotten the words.

It becomes impossible to say who wrote the song because, in a sense, the song has been added to by everybody who ever sang it. This is how we get so many versions of one song, so many different songs with similar stories, so many 'floating' verses.

I do love Robbie Burns, and I love singing his stuff (especially John Anderson - in safe company) but I for one, would not describe his work as 'traditional' purely because we know that he wrote it.

My views only.

Catrin.