jim, walter was good singer, but he was talking poppycock,what defined the songs he was calling old were the modes they were written in, and the style of prose.
modern songwriters like macColl and Tawney wrote songs USING THOSE MODES AND THEIR SONGS HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN FOR TRADTIONAL.
Walter was unable to define what he meant in musical terminology so he defined the songs as best he could but inaccurately, by ending on the draw on the melodeon.. that means he either ended on the dorian mode or mixolydian or possibly dominant chord in major key.
I understand if this is also beyond you musical comprehension ,Jim, but there is time for you to learn, it is not necessarily to do with age, but musical style