You said, virtuously, that you don't want to upset people, and thus stopped singing.

I submit you made a miscalculation. One anti-social opinionated bag who really doesn't understand or care to understand the tradition of folk music is not "people". and if there were six people left in your jam session, five of them would have been more upset if you had asked them if you should withdraw and stop singing. Furthermore, her transposing her disapproval from her opinions of life to you for sinigng a song from a different time period about different people is just ridiculous.

Letting her dampen your love of your own art is ill-advised. If you really need someone to suppress you, I am sure you can find someone who would be willing to do so more artistically than using old-fashioned looks of horror and such primitive authoritarian devices! About 10% of any crowd will pitch in with this kind of knee-jerk, irrational stopping of creative impulses in others. But only a few % can do it really well. If she doesn't like songs about eating food she doesn't approve of, or songs about othe rpractices she considers revolting, why perhaps she should just go find the nearest elevator and listen to the Muzak. I am sure it would be much nicer for her than that awful low-life pub, anyway! Chin up -- getting horrified reactions from that kind of person is a sure sign you're doing something right!!

Regards,

A