Wouldn't surprise me, Owen.

I read somewhere that in some European countries it was considered perfectly reasonable to send a kid (either boy or girl) as young as 13 up into the mountains with the family herd to spend the entire summer alone. The scope for loneliness, for illness or injury, or to be taken advantage of was enormous.

If the story line of this translation is anything like the original, then the song approached a serious purpose in a light-hearted way: teaching how to avoid becoming a pregnant teenager.

I wonder if the "tra la la"s and "no no no's" represent yodeling.

I tried listening to the YouTube, but I just couldn't stand it. Personal preference.