"You could ask a festival organizer or some other person if the audience is fond of racist lyrics or not." Hilarious Jeri. Tell me how often in everyday life do you wander about asking about other people, complete strangers, permission to do things? How often do you, in asking for that permission, do you ask them questions framed in such a way that their answer would be a foregone conclusion.

As usual what appears to be lacking is a sense of perspective. I do not view Waxies Dargle as being a "racist" song in any way. It humorously describes everyday life of the poor in Dublin in the mid to late 19th century.

Staying with perspective. Consider that the countless number of times throughout the previous eleven years and since that the song has been performed resulted in no complaints at all leads me to dismiss Lighter's, "matter of judgment. If someone doesn't care about making a good part of their audience very uncomfortable".

In the instance I mentioned from experience the festival was huge and our attention was drawn to ONE complaint, the complainant was, of course, not identified but why is it automatically assumed that it came from a member of the audience? It could equally have come from one of the other performers. As to multi-racial and multi-national communities identifying various groups, it is I find most commonly used in the USA. I have often heard people from the USA qualify the "type" of American they are by rather unnecessarily stating that they are Hispanic Americans, Afro-Americans, Irish-Americans.

Another Dublin Street Song, "The Maid of Cabra West", second verse:

"Now he was a nasty piece of goods
Gonzales was his name
And he couldn't wait till he got his hands
On Concepta - who was me dame!
So I made a vow by the Grand Canal
That I would do him in
'Cos I didn't think much of them Portugees
And in particular - I didn't like him!"

The last verse:

Now it's all for the love this fair young maid
And her Portugee sailor boy
For me crime of passion, I've landed in Mountjoy.
And if ever I get out of here,
My life I'll change you'll see
I'll marry some Mot from the Liberties
Who wouldn't look at no Portugee"

It is a very funny song brought to prominence by the singing of Frank Harte, but prior to any rendition the audience is warned that, if it had been penned today it would be considered the most "politically incorrect" song ever written. Fact is - it was NOT penned today - Dublin no longer hosts a community of working Portuguese fishermen - their, by now completely assimilated, descendants still live and work in the city where the song is often heard without complaint.

Going back to Waxies Dargle. If Shane MacGowan and the Pogues saw fit to sing the song "unabridged", then I do not see any reason why we should do any different. Good enough for them, good enough for us.

As stated previously. There nothing anybody can do about certain people who go out and attend any social gathering looking for offence - they will find it.