I thought Jim Carroll would wade in at some point.

There is a sense of deja vu about this thread.

So... is it folk because it is so old nobody knows who wrote it?
is it folk because Ewan McColl either wrote or claimed to have collected it?
is it folk because it has "folky" instruments playing it?

Or is it folk because it is being played in a folk club?

Sorry Jim and others, but only the last one has no exceptions.

I have a recording of Frank Sinatra singing "First time ever I saw your face," and I also have the Stereophonics singing it. I also have heard it umpteen times in a folk club.

So.. at what point did it become a folk song? (McColl wrote it.) At one point is it a crooning song (Sinatra) and rock (Stereophonics.)

I genuinely do not know what a folk song is. I also would suggest my lack of knowledge is rather widely shared....