Apologies to Jim Carroll for what appears to be a misunderstanding. When I wrote that Folk ~ are people ~ Full Stop I was using the word "folk" in it's broadest and archaic meaning given in the dictionary as people in general. I hope that clears that up.

Today "People in general" do not write poems, do not write songs, do not play musical instruments, do not dedicate years of their lives to some clearly defined art form because the vast majority of "People in general" are too busy just getting on with life. Now back in the time long before jazz and before it's offshoot - skiffle, "people in general" worked the land and sailed the seas and the work they did was manual and labour intensive. Part of them "just getting on with life" involved collective effort and to give that work rhythm and co-ordination they sang or chanted to improve the efficiency of what they were doing and to relieve the boredom of it.