Singer/songwriters

[Wintereis]

Sorry to be persnickety, but, the rhythm ("any regular recurring motion, symmetry") in Johny Cash's song is much faster than the rhythm in Leadbelly's version. The lyrical idea? I am not certain what you are referring to. Both of the lyrics have much to do with judgment, the last judgment. But, since they are dealing with the same subject matter, that is to be expected. But, as for your claim, it seems no more relevant to the originality of the work than as if someone had claimed Shakespeare had plagiarized Pyramus and Thisbe to make Romeo and Juliet . . . and there are far more similarities between Shakespeare's work and Ovid's than there is between Leadbelly's and Cash's. The musical styles, the rhythms, the melody, and, yes, the lyrics are rather too divergent for the song to be a cover.