> And some folk song “dirges” are best forgotten.

Depends on the dirge, and on the listener, and often on one's drinking companions. Personally I find most of "On Ilkley Moor Bar t'At" (after the first couple of verses) to be a dirge to a sprightly tune; but a sprightly tune can rescue lyrics usually sung as a dirge ....

As my last act of musical mischief in this life, I have made it Very Clear that I want "Oh God our Help in Ages Past" to be sung at my funeral, but only if it's to the tune usually reserved for Ilkley Moor. (Try it sometime, and see if you can do it without smiling.) After all, I perpetrate filk, so I wish my life to be *celebrated* in an appropriately inappropriate manner.

Meanwhile, back at the subject line ....