The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #155357   Message #3654849
Posted By: Bounty Hound
29-Aug-14 - 05:12 AM
Thread Name: What makes a new song a folk song?
Subject: RE: What makes a new song a folk song?
Ok, let's approach this from a slightly different angle.

Was the late Peter Bellamy a folk singer? Now I'm assuming that I get a rounding chorus of 'yes of course' from the assembled company.

So there you are, a few years ago, watching Peter perform, first he sings 'Georgie' (Child ballad, so no problem there then) then 'Fakenham Fair' (origin unknown, but thought by many to be a fairly recent song in the grand scale of things) then he sings 'The way beneath the ground' (his own song about a local legend)

So we're all agreed we are watching a 'folk singer' performing, and all the songs are performed in Peter's own inimitable style.

Which one is the 'folk' song??