I've been accused of not posting above the line very much and that is true. And now I will show you why!

By way of prologue to what will probably be the prolegomena, let me say that definitions are by stipulation, via negativa, authority, debate, history, analogy, all, some, or none of the above!

As I read through the posts I thought of the problems C & W has endured in defining itself. Roy Acuff fought long and hard to keep drums and brass off the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. In the end his efforts to define and keep Country music pure failed. Well, for him it failed. What was he to do with Bob Wills and the Texas Troubadours or Johnny Cash with his Ring of Fire? And while all the steam was rising about Country music, what happened to Western music? I think Marty Robbins was the last soul on the planet to have any real success with a Western song.

Be that as it may, while reading down through the posts I kept looking for the words "banjo" or "Mandolin" or "French Harp" or even "guitar"! Or maybe even electric guitar if you happen to be Bob Dylan. Zither would have been a nice touch. Does instrumentation have anything to do with the subject? Dulcimer? Acapulco?

1954 seems to be a magic date. What was it about 1954 that what was said and thought then was so much more influential than anything being said today? Pre 1945 would seem to me to be a much likelier date. Sure a war was going on. A war like no other but the atomic bomb had yet to be revealed. No, THAT little item really changed things...forever! A lot of "folk" music came to the fore AFTER that revelation.

Does folk music have to address social problems? Seems a popular theme in many folk songs. Slavery, unions, wars, justice, injustice, lost love, suicide, murder, mysticism. I think even Toplady's Rock of Ages might qualify. Folk music appears to be a quite broad genre with a lot of sub genres besides. Historical songs, ancient songs , native or aboriginal songs (and instrumentation), new songs about old things and re-visions. Man what a fascinating genre.

Folk seems to defy definition and maybe that is one of its hallmarks. The art lover cannot tell you exactly why one painting would be called a work of art and another just an illustration. He might just tell you that art is that thing of which "he knows it when he sees it" and just like that, I know folk music when I hear it. And maybe that is the best definition.