I would never hunt either, but you can't just chuck out great chunks of history because it isn't PC. I sing a lot of very emotional songs about war, death, and all sorts of unsavoury topics and folkies seem to have a higher ughh factor than the general public. I have heard that some political songs are particularly inflammatory to the people on the opposite side. The reason folk songs are so powerful is that they are written from one viewpoint.

One of the best-selling horror writers said that people enjoy being scared because it allows them to face their greatest fears and deal with them. In the same way we go through a hundred (exaggeration?)different emotions when we listen to folk music, not least of which is relief that life ain't like that any more.

How could you ban hunting songs and then sing about people being put to death for what would be seen these days as trivial offences? If I weeded my song list of all dodgy topics, I might be left with love songs, (Hmmm. Not that I don't love them, I hasten to add!)and songs about how lovely it is to rise at four, work like a slave for eighteen hours and then take home just enough to put a loaf of bread and some dripping on the table.

As for teaching hunting songs to children, I suppose you would apply the same 'censorship'rules as for any other kind of violence. Not many parents would read the original fairy tales to their kids, as they are far too horrific, but tend to stick to the more sanitised versions.

Deni