Folk music is one of the major divisions of music. There are many styles of folk music, all of which can be classified into various traditions, generally based around some combination of ethnic, racial, religious, tribal, political or geographic boundaries.

• North, Central, South American and the Caribbean
• Asia: East, Southeast, Northern, Central, Caucasus and South Asia
• Europe: Northern, Eastern, Southeastern, Western and Southern Europe
• Middle East and North Africa: Southwest Asia, North Africa
• Oceania and Australia: Polynesia, Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia
• Sub-Saharan Africa: East, Southern, Central and West Africa

As well as dividing songs according to geography, it is possible to categorise them by subject matter:

• War song
• Anti-war song
• Sea shanty
• Drinking song
• Work song
• Love song
• Child Ballads (tragic ballads)
• Protest song
• Murder ballad
• Sporting song

Other folk music relates to social events:

• Christmas carol
• Pub session

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