"He is only partly correct his"
Doesn't matter how correct you believe he is Dick
I put it up as an example of a singer who is conscious of his art and is prepared to articulate that consciousness.
Walter was a singer who played an instrument who grew up in the dying embers of a folk song tradition and apprenticed himself to his family's songs in order to keep them alive and pass them on because he believed they were important - worth a little more than being written off as being "out of his depth" I would have thought, but that's me.
It's not directly relevant to this subject (I grabbed it in a hurry), but I thought it a fair model for someone who applied himself to his songs enough to make them work.
You go and argue with Walter, I'll pass on what he had to say about the singing of his songs, if you don't mind.
Jim Carroll

Walter of "expression" is singing
J.C.         Do you think that when you started singing in the clubs and festivals, do you think you are singing any different than you were singing when you were younger?

W.P            Dash, yes, I think so.

J C         Do you know in what way?

W.P.         Oh, I don't know, put more expression in probably; I think so. Well, but you see, you take these, what we call the old type... the old folk song, they're not like the music hall song, are they, or a stage song, there's a lot of difference in them, I mean a lot of these... some ... it all depend what and how you're singing. Some of them go to nice lively, quick tunes, and others are... you don't do 'Van Dieman's Land'... If there's a sad old song you don't go through that very quick. Like 'Up to the Rigs' is the opposite way about.
I mean, we must put expression in, you can't sing them all alike. Well most of the stage songs you could, if you understand what I mean. According to what the song is you put the expression in or that's not worth hearing; well that's what I think anyhow. And as I never did sing them, you see, there was no expression I could put in.