Why do we expect song lyrics to stand up as poetry? They rarely do. Poems set to music are often too clumsy to sing. Many famous pop, rock, jazz, country and blues songs are repetitive phrases and appealing vowel sounds that work well for the singer, and on an emotive level strike a chord for the listener. When you examine the lyrics, they are often meaningless, shallow and far from poetry, but sometimes they just work and become memorable hits. Do we expect too much of folk songs, expecting a good narrative, a profound message, a great original melody, an emotional connection and first rate poetry as well?