What is Folk?

What is folk? And what does it mean when someone says that "folk is dead in Greenwich Village" as I read recently on the occasion of the closing of one more historic club?

I can think of at least 3 definitions of folk.
The first is: Woody Guthrie, Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, ie, a certain style of music that involves accoustic instruments and a certain unadorned style that was very popular in the 60's and 70's and kind of petered-out with Carter and died with Reagan, although some have tried to make a comeback, including Bruce Springsteen, Suzanne Vega and others like Tom Russell. This is what you would find if you went to the "folk" section of your record store.

The second is: "Authentic folk". Irish ballads, whaling songs, mining songs, railroad songs, rails, jigs, fiddle tunes, blues--accoustic music that is generally played by "folks"--or at least used to be before radio and TV were invented. This music tends to be appreciated by white upper-middle-class well-educated types such as Pete Seeger and yours truly, for its authenticity and simple charm.

The third definition of folk is: whatever music people who are not professional musicians play when they get together with people they don't know that well. In that sense, any song that we've all heard a million times makes the cut (i.e., LA Woman, Dead Flowers, Me & Bobby McGee, Margaritaville) as well as any song that is so simple that anyone can follow (eg, Jambalaya, My Bucket's Got a Hole in it, Busted). I heard someone say that CCR songs (Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising) became folk songs as soon as they were released--each one feels oddly familiar and inevitable, even the first time you hear it. And they tend to be pretty easy to play as well. Basically, any song that people can relate to, and possibly play or sing along to if they have some personal musical inclination, is folk. Ideally, folk is music that brings ordinary people together, without pretensions or exclusions.

Anyway, my personal opinion is that the third definition of "folk" is the most true and significant one, and that the first two are either simplifications, subversions or intellectual snobbery.

The first definition is the most pernicious, not because I'm not a huge consumer of Dylan and others (I am). But because it focuses more on a marketing classification than the essence of what the thing is and does not put a premium on the spontaneity and freshness that is the true beauty of folk. And because it makes it possible to say such things as "folk is dead."

Folk music is not dead. There will always be ordinary people getting together to make music--God help us if this kind of activity ever stops. If we're not hearing good folk music it's because we're not listening for it or we're not going out and making it. We know that folk music has served as the inspiration for professional music since the classical composers and before. And we know that it doesn't take much to ignite a popular flame; all it takes is a Guthrie, a Seeger and a Dylan to take something valuable but discarded from the past and present it to the people in a way that they can connect to. Spontaneous music, played by non-professional musicians will never disappear, no matter how technologically advanced we become.

With time, words change and lose their meaning. In Spanish, folk music might be called "popular music", meaning music "of the people" with a distinctly socialist tinge. In English, popular music, or "pop music", means empty, facile, commercial music. And folk is dead. So there is no English word that really succeeds in saying "authentic music of the people". But that doesn't mean that folk music is dead. Folk music will always be around whenever people are willing to get together and play "I've Been Working on the Railroad" or "Oops I did it Again" or "Achey Breaky Heart" and not worry too much if they are playing it exactly the same as on the recording. And eventually, people will prefer it to what they are hearing on the radio or seeing on the tv, then the next Guthrie will come along, followed by the next Dylan, and the next folk revival will be in full bloom.

Anyway, I'm glad to be playing real authentic folk music in historic Washington Square Park, as well as other places. I'm certainly no professional, but music is the opposite of cooking: a song that you make for yourself will always seem better than one that is prepared for you, even by a professional. If your own song sounds even half good it is a joy and a revelation. This is the engine behind all folk music.