"Can you not see that the main caller of names in this thread is you?"
No - I most certainly can't
Throughout this argument I have given my own experiences in the club and what I belive has happened to them
You people have now reduced this to childish name calling
You refuse to provide a definition for your 'product' whih is folk song, and when you are given one - the one that is accepted internationally and has been documented as such, you run around like headless chickens and hurl abuse
If you call yourselves folk clubs, you need to be able to state what you are presenting in clear terms otherwise you are conning the public
A fol song iss something specific - ifit has another meaning than that documented, then you are committed to saying what it now means
The '54 definition was accepted internationally as a guide to what folksong means
That remains the case
Steve Roud has just produced a massive tome on English Folksong - in an early chapter entitled 'Is there Such a Thing as a Folksong Anyway' he writes of the congress that devised the definition, agreed on by International researchers;
"apart from a quibble with "oral" in the first sentence, if I had been at the conference I would have happily voted in favour of the resolution"
This is an internationally accredited and widely accepted definition, and until it is replaced by another, it will remain a reasonable description of what a folk song is.
I can pull you about a hundred collections of folksongs from all over the world from our shelves, all conforming to that definition, - Britain, America, Canada, Norway, France Italy.....
Likewise, I can pull far more examples of examples of Folktales from all over the world - the title of the genre makes the link between the songs and tales
Folklore, folk dance, folk music..... all designating these as creations of the working people of Britain - all inked
You have offered nothing other than - there is no such identifiable thing as a folk song
Yes there is - I've give you what they are
I've made my offer - a ten part radio series on British folk song ans a thirteen part series of international folksongs
"I would like some evidence that the "wide world " shares your views! "
You are included in this offer - the proof is there for the taking - nothing so far
"I have defined folk song as being anything that sounds like folk to me."
How can you define fok by comparing it to something you can't define Dave?
That is a nonsensical statement
Jim Carroll