"The fact remains that a good yardstick for a folk song is that it stands on its own without needing instrumental arrangement. If it can't survive being passed on as an unaccompanied song it won't live long."

Sorry, Treewind, I totally disagree with you there; it would be the same as saying that a folk tune will only survive if it can be hummed without the need for instrumentation - but I suppose it just comes back the old chestnut, 'what is a folk song' and I think we've been there far too often.