Musings on the "Tradition"

As Stirrings 131 shuffled into being, I was struck by the irony of a number of online message board “discussions” attacking, defending and otherwise muttering about Seth Lakeman’s song “White Hare” and its nomination for Best Traditional Song in this year’s Radio 2 Folk Awards (an award which the aformentioned track ultimately did not win). This song, the online masses asserted, could not possibly be traditional because young Seth had written it himself. Meanwhile, away from the glitz and glamour of the Beeb, Mick Ryan’s song “The Widow’s Promise” turned up in the book Traveller’s Joy, the latest EFDSS publication collecting traditional songs from traveller singers, which received much praise in last issue’s reviews. EFDSS have, quite rightly published an apology;

 

Subsequent to the publication of Traveller's Joy, the author and editors discovered that the song 'The Widow's Moor' (no. 49 in the book and track 18 on the accompanying CD), credited to singer Duncan Williamson, actually derives from the song 'Widow's Promise' written by Mick Ryan. We apologise to Mick for this oversight and will ensure that in any subsequent reprinting of the book he shall be fully credited for his work.

 

Whilst I’m sure that Mick will be glad to have his work credited, I can think of no greater accolade for the writer of material in a traditional style than to have one of your songs collected from a source singer at the heart of a living tradition. One can only hope that Mr. Ryan is feeling a warm glow of satisfaction that at least takes up a little less space than a Folk Award and needs a lot less dusting.

 

The thing that really got me though, was the idea that something new could not be traditional. Traditional is not (in my book) a euphemism for old, dead, or “we don’t know who wrote this”, yet the online discussions of early spring would have you believe all these things. I’m quite partial to a “traditional” Sunday lunch, but I tend to like them pretty freshly cooked.

 

I hesitate to go all Zen on you, but I’d suggest that regardless of age, something either is or isn’t traditional. You can tell, you know, pretty quickly. It’s about feel, not a set of criteria, and something new can have that feel as much or more than something ancient. The Japanese have famously characterised this feel in aesthetics as wabi-sabi, an intangible intimate, unpretentious and earthy set of intangible qualities which craftsman struggle to put into even newly made objects. In the west that seems to translate into knackered looking brand new Levis and pre-abused “relic” stratocasters.

 

In song terms, it is nice to know that the tradition itself is still the best judge of a traditional song. You are of course, welcome to keep checking.