Imagine being a singer — in this case, a singer of traditional British folk songs and murder ballads, songs of love, hate, revenge, redemption and tragedy. And as the singer of these songs, you get pretty well known in the circles of folk music in the 1960s and 1970s.Now, imagine a broken heart robs you of your ability to sing. For 38 years, your voice — once beautiful — falls silent.This is the story of the great Shirley Collins.But this tragic tale has a happy epilogue, because Shirley Collins is finally singing again. She has a new record called Lodestar and she is our guest on All Songs Considered.I listened to Shirley Collins' music as a teen in the heyday of British folk music. I own records by The Albion Band, which she put together with her then-husband, Ashley Hutchings. Her songs were a huge influence on American singers as well — and one of those singers, so many years later, is Colin Meloy.If you listen to The Decemberists, you know how much Colin loves a good tale, and a good murder ballad. In fact, he released an EP of Shirley's songs about 10 years ago. So, on this edition of All Songs Considered: "Colin and Collins," a conversation with Shirley Collins and Colin Meloy.