Steve - What I wrote is fact - many don't care about the history - that does not mean I am one of them....as I am sure you really know!

Unless you are like Steve Roud and make a living out of all this research etc., you only use the history when you introduce a song you may sing, or you are asked about it afterwards.
When we sing from such a rich and varied catalogue of songs, sometimes we use songs that have been composed - and should I choose to sing one - then it is as important a song to me as a song collected only ever once from a traditional singer who happened to have been born close to where I myself have been born.

Yes - History is important - but so is continuing to sing- anything, and This thread has got out of control and drifted from reality. My last words - I hope.

Tim Radford