Steve; an additional thought.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but some time ago you suggested that not only were our folksongs created on the broadside presses, but also, many of the variants found in the tradition were attributable to the same source? Doesn't this undermining any suggestion that the rural population played any part in their creation or re-creation and reduce our folksongs, in terms of creation or function, to the same level as any pop song churned out by todays music industry, and the singers no different than today's recipients of such?
Which brings us back to the artless and cultureless noble sons and daughters of the soil so beloved by the various Romantic movements IMO.
Jim Carroll