I see both sides here. I think what you want to do, Michael, is perfectly all right, but I love Mary Garvey's titles. As to people thinking a re-write is the original thing, that might be mildly regrettable, but I believe it would qualify as a "victimless crime."

If "Streets of Laredo" can start out in a London paupers' hospital and become a cowboy song from therea, then what Michael is doing would seem to just be part of the folk tradition itself. The issue of "doing it the right way" has been discussed on many other threads; IMO the essence of folk is that there is no one right way. If there were, the world would be without John Hartford's "Lorena," because that's not note-for-note how Joe Webster would have done it.

Nonetheless, the Song Police continue to parade. That's why we have jokes like "It takes four mandolin players to change a light bulb; one to change it and three to talk about how Bill Monroe wouldn't have done it that way." etc., etc., etc.

CC