Ok, I guess this has been said a million times before:

Bert & Ewan were Marxists with a whole bag of ideas about class, culture and performance. These ideas grew out of their pre-war experiences of life, theatre and of what we now call folk songs.

After they met Alan Lomax, another Marxist, song collector and folklorist, they became even more committed to performing and popularising folk songs and they were determined to show the political content of songs as they moved from their rural origins into the Industrial Revolution.

If they had to alter songs, make up songs and talk 'seriously' about folk songs then they did - does it happen in any other genre of music that the performers explain the origin and meaning of songs brfore they sing them?. They did this essentially for political reasons - to raise working class consciousness and bring Revolution nearer.

Yes, I know I said this all above but 'sometimes' people joining in late date read earlier posts.

Well, maybe some class consciousness was raised but not a lot and The Revolution?

But we have loads of great songs. Thanks to them and bigger loads of others