Comedy songs hold a vital place in the folk music canon; an essential lighthearted relief from the tales of doom relayed by so many folk songs.

And yet ... if we hear the same comedy song too frequently, it becomes boring. We need a bit of a break in between its outings.

Why is that, I wonder? Why can we enjoy a fine ballad, for example, being sung over and over in a short space of time, but not an equally good comedy song?