I don't think such songs could ever come into being via debasement

Well, here's one. A debased (half-forgotten and faultily reconstructed) version of Two Sisters. And a great song in its own right.

But I've never used the word debasement in this context (before this comment!) and it's not the word I'd choose - any more than I'd call evolution 'debasement'.

A Tradition is very much a phenomenon of human collectivity, although the process of composition remains something very different

That's pretty much what I've been saying.