This evening I was listening to Padraigin Ni Ullachain and Len Graham's recording "When I was Young." When I came to the lyrics of
"I Once Had a Granny" (her music to Hugh Quinn's lyrics) I was struck by the lyrics

" I once had a granny
Of songs she had many
There ne'er will be any
Shall sing them so well

...

As she baked on a griddle
Her tongue like a fiddle
Lilted rum tum tiddlely um tum
And sweet songs as well"

And that got me to thinking (always dangerous): are there many traditional songs about singing? Among humans, I mean (leaving aside bird songs, like "The Singing Bird" or "The Nightingale"). To be honest I can't think of any. The one that comes immediately to mind for me is Tommy Makem's own composition, "Sing Me the Old Songs" with the chorus that declares

"Sing me the old songs of laughter and pleasure
Sing me the old songs of sorrow and pain
Sing from the heart, sing of love without measure
The good times, the bad times, the sunshine and rain"

That doesn't count for two reasons: one it isn't traditional, and more importantly it is really a song about nostalgia, not singing

So that is my question: do people know of good traditional songs about humans singing?

Chris Brennan
cristoir@rochester.rr.com