I stand corrected by M.Ted on my statement that folk songs fundamentally have only melodies. I was essentially referring to the traditions of the British Isles and the continuations of those traditions elsewhere, which account for a lot of the discussions here on Mudcat. But I should have said so. Most of the examples cited above seem to be either from other traditions or what I would regard as composed songs. But this thread isn't the place to branch off into another "what is folk" discussion.

Richard