This is a question that surfaces in my mind from time to time. Why don't folk music enthusiasts in North America or the U.K. hear much about German folk music? In fact, do folk music fans in Germany pay any attention to German folk music? God knows Germany is a singing nation: more people involved in choral singing than in sports, or so I've heard. Also, folk music from other European countries has gained a foothold in English speaking countries. I once asked a great friend of mine, a German immigrant to Canada and a major fan of Celtic music, whether the folk scene in Germany included German folk music. She said that that German folk fans tended to avoid their own national folk music because the Nazis had used it as a political tool.

This seems a shame. I would really like to learn some German folk songs (I used to sing in the local polizeichor when I lived in Germany). Would I be shunned if I was to sing a German song at a Mudcat gathering in Germany?

Any comments. I would be particularly interested in hearing from any German catters.

Edmund