The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #131351 Message #2963457
Posted By: Marje
12-Aug-10 - 05:42 AM
Thread Name: Is it permissible-to change a word in an old song?
Subject: RE: Is it permissible-to change a word in an old song?
I see traditional songs as our songs. They don't belong to anyone else, do they? Who would give or deny permission to adapt them?
We (the revivalists, the song carriers, whatever you like to call us) have inherited these songs and have every right to adapt and use them as we wish. We and the generation before us have been doing this now for about half a century, which may not be long enough for some people to regard it as a "tradition", but it's getting close to one by any definition.
We should remember that any version of a traditional song that has been recorded, either on paper or in sound, is simply a snapshot of how one (or several) singers sang a particular song in a certain place one day, probably in the early 20th century. It's a big mistake to assume that this version is somehow definitive or original - there were earlier versions which almost certainly differed in some respects, just as there will be later ones.
The "oral tradition" is neither the only method of transmission used in the past, nor extinct today. The singer who is regarded as a "source" singer may have learnt the song orally within the family, or from a printed source such as a broadside version, or a family song-book. Similarly, many modern singers have learnt the tunes of their songs orally - there are many singers who can't read music - and in some cases the words too. Most of us will know, for example, several popular shanties we've never seen in print.
So in my view, all this gives us the right to make modest changes to the words of songs to suit us and our audiences. Exactly what sort of changes constitute an improvement is a matter for further debate - some people want to modernise the context, change the genders, or remove offensive words, while others simply want to regularise the rhythm and the rhymes, and perhaps tweak the vocabulary if it doesn't make any sense to the modern ear. Many singers shorten songs by omitting or conflating verses, and it's quite common practice for a singer to consider several "traditional" versions and then combine them into one that seems satisfying and complete. Why anyone should object to this is beyond me. As someone has pointed out, if a change spoils the song, it's not likely to be taken up and perpetuated by other singers.
Marje