As the old saying goes, "Amateurs borrow. Professionals steal."

Zimmy was one of the greatest thieves in show biz history. He stole from beat poets and every folk singer on MacDougal Street, usually making their work his own.

Perhaps the one exception was his version of House of The Rising Sun. He stole the arrangement - note for note  - from Dave Van Ronk who never failed to mention this fact in interviews for the next half century.