As singers, nobody was committed to "being honest" about what they did with their songs - it was not part of their job descriptions
Had it been, I can't think of a single revival singer who wouldn't have been standing in the dole queue looking for a new job
This has nothing to do with honesty
As for Burns - he adapted and improved folk songs and rewrite them to make his poems he collected as if they were going out of fashion without telling anybody
I think all this puts the Peter Buchan 'controversy' into context
Jim
I