"Traditional songs are ones that are played over and over, handed down from one generation to another, and generally reach the point where the author has been long forgotten, or long since died, but the song has lived on through oral tradition. This music is one of the oldest kinds of music, even though there are many more modern song that do not have an established author but are still passed along from one generation to the next. There are many songs of this type, and many sorts of sounds that fall under this label.""The Fox"" is one such traditional ballad that exhibits the type of music found in this genre. It is a great old song with a sort of children's tale lean to it. It tells the tale about how the fox goes out at night to steal from the farmers to feed his young. Another such song is ""The Minstrel Boy"" which falls under this genre. It tells the story of the Minstrel Boy who goes to war to defend his country, Ireland. It is believed to have been written to canonize the young men that Moore met at Trinity College who suffered for their participation in the 1798 rebellion of the United Irishmen.On a lighter note there is the song ""Sweet Violets"" which is traditionally sung at weddings in many families throughout the US. The song is an amusing one about a farmer who decides to marry a local maiden. The song's greatest entertainment is in the verses which remain strictly g-rated but constantly allude to and suggest a less kosher idea. These are just a few examples of traditional songs, there are many more around and every family seems to have a few of their own that they have passed on generation to another and hopefully this is a tradition that will continue."