Interesting Iain. Reminds me of Child's approach to English literature. So far from being a 'critic' or a student of poetic effects and meanings, the edition of poets he edited sought to do precisely that, to get at what was believed to be the 'intentions' of the poets, deciding which versions were and were not accurate.

Raises some interesting questions, ones applying to monks copying out old manuscripts, who are said to have made mistakes.

Even more so when you consider a song travelling across national boundaries when translation errors occur. The most famous example of a cock up I know of relates to the use of the term 'virgin' by mistake in relation to the mother of Mary, a mistake which adversely affected views on women and sexuality for very long periods of history.