Definition of "folk song" [folk song]

• A song belonging to the folk music of a people or area, often existing in several versions or with regional variations. (noun)
• A song composed in the style of traditional folk music. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Blind Lemon Jefferson's most famous folk song contains a wish that has been fulfilled by some of his many admirers."
• "At a subsequent celebration of the success of the Human Genome Project, sponsored by the Genetic Alliance, a heartwarming organization that exists to encourage and empower families who face rare genetic diseases, I rewrote the familiar folk song “All the Good People” to fit the occasion."
• "The first song we ever played in public was “Matuß Moja, Matuß” —“Mother Mine, Oh Mother”—a nice little folk song about a girl who wants to marry a guy because she loves the rings that hang from his leather belt."