"I knew a song that his grand-father had taught him when he was a lad."
The same was said of several of his songs, including 'Shoals of Herring' 'Freeborn Man' and 'Moving On Song' - MacColl always took it as a compliment.
His Radio Ballad songs, those from 'The Irishman' and others like 'Shellback' and 'The Tenant Farmer' were constructed from recorded actuality; 'Shoals' from Norfolk fishermen, Sam Larner and Ronnie Balls, 'Freeborn Man' from Belle Stewart, 'Moving' from a Scots Travelling woman who described in The Travelling People' being forced to give birth in a moving caravan while being evicted from her site......
The actuality, much of which wasn't used for the programmes, make fascinating listening and are archived in the Charles Parker Collection in Birmingham Central Library,