"I believe the tradition has died but I believe that a mix of those songs and new ones made using them as a template is a perfectly acceptable way of presenting both under one roof - they don't have to be the same to be complementary to one another"

Jim. In your last couple of posts it seems to me that if you allowed a slight flexibility in definition you would find a lot of support for your viewpoint. I will try to amplify what I an getting at:

I would say in the western world ir is not so much the tradition has died, more the way of life that gave rise to the tradition.
Instead of saying new ones made using the old as a template, rephrase it to say contemporary folk is the new tradition that has evolved as old ways have become extinct. If we can agree on this much of the dispute evaporates(Ithink)


The idea that singing in different tones expresses different emotions is a very old idea and those clever enough to compose utilise it either knowingly or instinctively, with great effect. It is this device that raises the hackles, or possibly lyrics can do it by themselves or maybe it is the combination. There has to be some key aspect of a song that makes it memorable enough to be subjected to the
process by which it is recognised as being within the folk genre.This obviously does not include shanties, worksongs etc for the sake of argument let me loosely define them as big ballads. I think the middle ground of what is folk can be accepted by most, but trying to define the end points is a minefield best not entered.
   I think there has been too much emphasis placed on the role of Ewan MacCol, there were others about in the same time period, Derek Sarjeant for one. What actually created the folk revival of the 60's,
was it the critics who few had heard of, or the amount of contemporary folk played on the radio and tv? Top of the Pops even starred the Dubliners in the 60's.

I think most of us going to a folk club expect a variety of material, whether it old new or a mix is I think less important. I think most look for variety either through the genre or through the ages, or all of this.