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Q: Is all of this website your own work?
A: No and Yes. I did not write any of the versions of Tam Lin, and without those versions there would be no website. Much of the information regarding books with Tam Lin related stories, known recordings of Tam Lin, and a few of the versions of the ballad were all sent to me by readers. I did some of the footwork in tracking down other versions, and most of the graphics and text on the website are mine (other than the versions). The rather shoddy HTML is mine, and I manage all of the other aspects, though rather poorly. I'm more of a curator than a creater, and a less than infinite number of monkeys could probably do the work just as well.
If you're interested in contributing to the website, I am always interested in more information about the ballad. I'm gratefull for any helpful pointers, and the website wouldn't be as good as it is today without the help I've received from other fans of the ballad. I generally cite contributors for new versions of the ballad, and provide links to related websites. Other information is cited as I judge appropriate. If you've written a scholarly or researched article on Tam Lin, I'd be interested in seeing it and perhaps adding it to the website (with proper attribution, of course.). Any other content is up for discussion, and I know there are areas that could use some serious help.
For more information on this topic, please see the page on copyright.
Q: Do you believe in Fairies?
A: No, not even a little. I don't believe in fairies, goblins, elves, angels, heaven, hell, demons or gods of any type. I'm an athiest and not one especially prone to fuzzy-headed thinking about mythological and unsubstantiated beliefs, no matter how interesting I find them from an intellectual standpoint. I'm curious about the ties between certain events in Tam Lin and the Celtic culture from which it emerged, but if you tell me you've seen strange people transforming into animals as they ride through a wild hunt in the forest, I'll tell you you should really stop sampling the berries without identifying them first. The same goes for anyone who sees angels or hears god's voice in their head, so please don't feel I am singling out any one system of belief to disbelieve in. I have an interest in cultural exploration and storytelling, and have generally attempted to maintain a somewhat academic approach to the tale.
Q: Are you obsessed with this ballad?
A: Well, define obsessed first. I am strongly interested in this ballad, and I have a good mind for collecting this sort of information. I like reading, I like researching, and I love discovering information that adds a new layer of knowledge to my understanding of the ballad. Those who know me know that I am a wealth of largely useless trivial information, it just happens that I focus my scatterbrained mind on this topic often enough to have produced some web pages. I was curious about this story since I first read it as a young girl, and when I found out there was a lot more information available about it but that the information wasn't organized in any fashion, I decided I might as well do it myself. As long as I was organizing the information for my own benefit, I might as well put up a website about it. To my delight, I have received a great deal of support and encouragement from the viewers of this site, and that has encouraged me to continue. I find the variations and hidden meanings interesting, and I am somewhat proud of the amount of work I've done, but I wouldn't call it obsessive. I know there are many who know more than I do.
Q: Can I send you my version of Tam Lin?
A: Are you a musician who performs an interesting variation on existing versions of the ballad? Are you a published author? If the answer is no to these, then that is probably my answer to you as well. If your story is on a website, I'll happily create a link to it on my pages, but please, don't send it to me. I have no ties to the publishing or film industry to help you in your creative career, and while I like the story of Tam Lin, I'm rather picky about what I choose to read. Send me the link and let me decide for myself if I want to read it, anything larger will just be deleted. If you have it on your website, I will create a link to it so others may read it if they wish.
If you're interested in submitting a parody or a short filk, please read my submission guidelines first.
Q: Is there a definitive version of Tam Lin? Do you have a favorite version? Is there a written version or recorded version you'd recommend?
A: No. While I am extremely opinionated on the subject, I would never go so far as to assume that my opinion is any more or less valid than anyone other informed one (or at least I wouldn't state it outloud). If there's a version you like best, a recording you like best, then that IS the definitive version, at least for you. Child's version 39A seems to be the one that occurs most frequently in ballad books. Child seems to have thought that it was the 'central' story, but the variations range quite widely in some aspects, and so long as folkore lives, it changes, and to live it must find a new home in the mind of every person who cares for it. All I can suggest is that you read and listen to as much as you can, and then make up your own mind.
(However, I will say that Anne Briggs has a haunting voice, Mike Waterson's is rich and comforting, and Rick Lee has the most compassionate and loving approach to the ballad that I have heard. Frankie Armstrong's entire album is refered to as "I heard a woman belting" at my house, Pete Morton nearly made me fall off my chair laughing and shouting "Huzzah!" when I heard it. As for the version by Fairport Convention, much beloved by the general public, not only do I hate it for the mangled version of the lyrics that it spawned and popularized, but as for the musical aspects, I'm always tempted to ask "Have the band and the singer ever actually MET?". I still tend to think of the ballad as a story rather than a song.)