What About American Folk Songs?

About a week or so ago, I misheard Hannah. I can't remember what she really said, but what I thought she said was "goober peas." Which almost worked because we were talking about the Civil War but not quite.

After the gales of laugher died down, Rose asked why goober peas would make me think of the Civil War. Because of the song, of course. What song? Huh?

Here we go again.

Many times either Tom or I has hummed a few bars or sung a line or two of a classic American folk song (She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain, Sweet Betsy of Pike, This Land is Your Land) only to draw a complete blank from both girls.

Both he and I remember all too well singing those songs in the bi-weekly music class in the fourth or fifth grades. If you lived in Kansas as I did back then you also learned some special Kansas folk songs which your class could perform for the monthly PTA meeting ("She's My Sunflower," *clap, clap, clap*).

Not these days. These days, Rose and Hannah explained, these days you learn folk songs from other countries. Rose giggled and said, "Mom, Mom, Mom, American folk songs aren't good enough! You've got to learn something from South Africa, even if you don't ever remember what those words mean!"

She broke into a lilting little song and Hannah dumbfounded me by joining in perfectly.

Now I don't particularly mind if they know South African folk songs. I, myself, learned Frere Jacque at a tender age as part of that age's multiculturalism effort.

However, is it too much to ask that all that multiculturalism include our own country? I know the politically correct answer but my own answer is a typically American, "Hell no!"

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity