Apparently sometimes (not always!) the Bluesmen (& women) did it better, much, much better. I've never thought of them as "folk," even if I could define it. They were often older, 'n could sing that stuff more from experience. Always, for me, they beat listening to some white city boy who never got his hands dirty singin' abt pickin' cotton. It's still often fun to listen to some of those Bluesmen, & often not fun to listen to the S/S of ill repute.

OTOH, I guess Stan Rogers, Eric Bogle, Tom Paxton, & who knows how many other wonderful entertainers, (& maybe me, 'n a lot of us here) were naval-centric at one time? (still are, ya say?)

I'll admit it: ya hardly have any choice but to listen to some of these folks, & thereby sometimes discover a jewel. But I'll probably still grumble abt it. While we're grumblin', how abt the super-ultra-neato-tricky finger picker whose output does little to enhance the ballad he's trying to overshadow instead of accompany? Lets gripe abt him too. (It's mostly fellas.)

Cheers, BK