Of course someone writes everything--writing is the process of conceiving, creating, and finishing--I would say that it is possible to conceive, create, and finish a song without paper ever having been involved--And these great ballad that have been transmitted, orally, perhaps,if they were not "written" exactly what were they?

As to Bronson,just read this quote, "Of all deleterious influences on folk-song, the most corrosive and deadly is the consciousness of audience appeal" and remember that the word "audience" just means "people"--How could a "folk song" be a "folksong" if it did not appeal to audiences?--

Folk music, whatever it is, is something that is embraced by the masses, kept alive by the masses, and, probably created, if not by the masses, at least among the masses. That means that it isn't exclusive, pure, or noble--music has always performed by musicians, and, since time began, they have had a propensity for talking a buck where they could get it, playing a dance, singing a song, making a record--and that is what has kept these folksongs around--you can reuse, recycle, cut and paste--and, strangely enough, when you leave them to rest for a while, they get put back together again--