Claim: Simple Gifts resembles to a slight extent several repetitions of the opening measures of William Byrd's renaissance composition and was claimed by Brackett to be an imitation of what folk music sounds like.
Evidence: The song resembles to a slight extent several repetitions of the opening measures of William Byrd's renaissance composition, "The Barley Break", which Byrd intended to imitate country children playing a folk game. Similarly, Brackett is claimed to have come up with the song as an imitation of what folk music sounds like.