Songlines

The kids are back from camp, and don't we know it. There is mud in their sleeping bags, nits in their hair, and tall stories at the dinner table. And as the neighbours have reminded us, they have knocked up some musical instruments and filled the air with song.

They are mostly the same catchy tunes (“Gimme crack corn, and I don't care …”; “In Dublin's fair city …”) that you and I sang to hand clapping, thigh …