The educational activities of first through third grades in the early 1960s included singing together. The songs of those first three years are anchored in my memory:

'There once was an Indian maid, a shy little prairie maid ...'

'I have a mule, her name is Sal, 15 miles on the Erie Canal ...'

'Around the world I searched for you ...'

'Bells are ringing, hearts are singing...'

There were Christmas carols, even in Latin, like 'Adeste Fidelis', and Month of May songs praising Mary.

The songs we sang on the playground at recess were more lively. With our parents having come out of the military life of WWII, we knew gems like 'Oh, I don't wanna go to war no more; Gee, Ma, I wanna go home...'.

There were traditional schoolyard favorites like 'Did you ever think that you would die and see the hearses as they pass by...'. There was one about a meatball rolling away down the hall, and one about a racehorse named Stewball. There were the popular songs on the radio like 'Que Sera' and 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' and the 'One-eyed, One-horned Flying Purple People Eater'.

Makes me wonder, how our brains are wired that a bunch of kids might erupt into melody about finding a peanut on the ground, and take great pleasure in the singing. And did it bring pleasure to those within earshot?