"you'll just make a fool of yourself if you try to fake it. "
Couldn't agree more - I'm an ex-Pat Brit living in Ireland and find myself somewhat embarrassed to hear one of my kinsfolk attempting an 'Oirish' accent - as hospitable as the Irish are, you should hover around in the background to hear the piss being taken big-time.
If you take the trouble, most Scots ballads Anglicise beautifully - I sing about forty of them (or used to).
Where they don't you can usually find a version that will - Bronson's great for that.
The problem is when certain words or phrases are an integral part of the beauty or the rhyming of the ballad, plouter - coulter - smoor - spey; things like that, but you can't sing 'em all.
Jim Carroll