At 57 I qualify as an old folkie, and most of the people who gather at O'Hurleys who are of that certain age know the Folk Scare songs word for word. But I do notice that Old Time music is bringing a whole new generation into the fold, and our contra dances are so full of the local high school and college students that we now have to pipe the music into the lower floor of our dance hall, in order not to violate the fire regulations. And our Irish and OT jams are evenly matched throughout the ages. The fiddler taking a cut against my banjo or guitar can be anywhere from 15 to 50. And those who don't play, are clogging up a storm. (In fact, our best local clogger is now teaching a class with a bunch of the youngsters, just prior to the jam on Thursday nights).

It may be that the words of most of the protest songs which made up so much of the music of that era, now sound so dated, whereas the music is ageless. And if they feel like it, the youngsters can make up their own words...