Lindsay/Two Bold Singermen and the English Folk Revival, 8. Building the Repertoire

Three questions have troubled students of English rural singing for decades: where did rural singers get their songs from, how did they choose which songs they kept in their repertoires and to what extent did they alter words or tunes to suit their own styles? This chapter considers these questions with regard to Harry and Sam. Harry’s repertoire extended to at least 125 songs, Sam’s repertoire was over 65. Both men acknowledged a variety of sources – family, friends, fellow workers, other singers and written material such as broadsides – and in this chapter the relative importance of each source is discussed.