Hey, we're talking about a song circle, not a recital or talent show. The important thing is to share SONGS, not set silly performance standards. If "quality" and "presentation" were so important, you'd have to bar half the singers at the outset--including those who "come prepared". I'll tolerate a lot of dross to hear just a handful of interesting songs. An uncommon song sung from a crib is worth ten of the usual suspects sung prettily from memory.

People have vastly different capacities for memorization, so those to whom it comes relatively easy unjustly look down upon those for whom it's a real challenge--even if the latter can sing better than the former! It's not necessarily "laziness"; it may be more a matter of limitation and assurance.

Singing in a group (particularly if you're the newbie) is daunting and distracting enough without such high-flown expectations. It is no insult to me if a person uses a lyrics sheet to give me his best rendering. The sheet may be his way to quell nervousness, avoid probable blanking and keep focused on the music. Most importantly, he's sharing in the way he feels comfortable, and sharing is supposed to be the main purpose of these gatherings.

I don't judge whether a song is worth singing--or whether a person is fit to sing it, or whether they are "honoring" the song--by whether they can reel it off from memory. After all, not every folksinger is a song-circle diva with stage aspirations, some are actual folk--remember them?

There are many songs I've worked up to the point that I could perform them expressively with a crib, but I don't feel like totally memorizing and actively reviewing them. (Consider Christmas carols and Civil War songs, as easy examples). Nevertheless, they'd be refreshing songs to share at song circles--if people weren't so snooty about song sheets. So the snoots end up depriving themselves and everyone else.

Time to reassess your priorities. Stop making hasty judgments about what it "means" if a person sings from a sheet. Have you grown too accustomed to musical performances pasteurized like Cheez-Whiz? Are you embarrassed by the reminder that your singers mostly learned their songs from Mudcat transcriptions taken from CDs? Does everyone have to be a Kate Rusby wannabe in order to grace your circle or sing in public? Why erect artificial barriers to people just singing and sharing?