Nice point about Cyril Tawney and Peter Belamy who write what I call "folk" songs (note the quotation marks). To their number, we can add Ewen MacCal, John Connerly, Bruce Phillips, Stan Rogers and a host of others. Their songs are written in traditional styles and with respect for the cultures they represent. I have sung with all of them, and I cann attest to their love of traditional music. Cyril, who is a truly great songwriter, is a student of British folklore. I hope and expect that some of his songs pass into tradition as has Ewen's "Shoals of Herring" and Woodie's "This Land is Your Land". That determination will be made by the folk, not by us in discussion. I should add that folksongs can be written. When students concoct a parody lampooning their teachers ("Joy to the World, the Teacher's Dead" is a good example), when political activists adapt a song to express their positions ("Woke Up This Morning With my Mind on Freedom"), when kids make up an anti-Barney song ("I Love You, You Love Me, Barney gave me HIV") they are writing their own folksongs, but only because they are presenting a communal view.