Mariner,

I think that what people usually do here at the Mudcat, when they spot a problem with a posted or DT song, is offer another version of it or, if it is a proofreading sort of error, a correction.

If your sense of the material differs from what is in the DT, perhaps a discussion of the differences would be of interest and assistance as well.

One night, my stepson and husband were jamming and I came along. "Let's do 'The Cat Came Back'," said my stepson Mike. I got very excited. Hadn't heard it in YEARS. They don't sing, so I offered to sing for them as they played. "Naw," I said, "I know if cold, I don't need the songbook, go ahead!"

They started. I started. I got very upset. "Mike! Why are you blues-ing that up like that?" Was he mocking the song, teasing me, being creative.... ??? Butchering my FAVORITE!!! Blasphemy!!!

"No, he said, "look, on the page, I am playing it exactly as given."

He was!

"But it doesn;t GO that way...." I started.

"Honey, this is how I've always heard it," sez my husband.

The book had a minor version. I happened to learn a major version. Did I know it had another version? Did they? Each thought the other daft and rude.

It was years before they believed I had not learned it "wrong" because I learn by ear. NOW, though, I have the exact version I learned, because Art Thieme was kind enough to send me a tape out of his archive, a live set by the people I learned it from. There it was, complete with the same introductory patter between songs that I had heard way back THEN (at the No Exit, and funny we have a thread on the list today about that dear old place.)

So... I guess I would ask, contribute via the folk process to build up what I can learn, but think a bit about complaining that a volunteer has done yer favorites wrong. HELP, first, maybe?

~S~

I'm having a hard time seeing if what yy want is oinformation about how many other mistakes there may be in the DT, how many variations there may be in the DT, or if you want people to get the