Name That Tune

There I was with little tykes all around me abandoned in the sheer joy of the last day of school. Not a sigh on the air; I was smiling too. Out of nowhere I started to hum a tune...and then broke out audibly with a "ha ha ha...you and me," and caught a few curious glances from parents. I put a lid on the singing and my brain started to work on the song. Where in the world did it come from?

"Teacher, what are you singing?" a first grader asked. Beats me, I thought. Then as fast as white lightning came the knowledge that I had been humming one of my dad's favorite tunes...Little Brown Jug. "Umm it's just a song my father used to sing a long time ago," I replied lamely.

I could tell that the boy was eager to hear the whole song but I was not up to recital. The parents of my first grade class are kind and understanding but I don't know if they would tolerate me singing..."ha ha ha--you and me--little brown jug how I love thee!" especially at a Christian school. I know I am unorthodox but I have some sense of decorum.

Crazy how certain tunes can come out of nowhere like that and almost crucify you. The last time I heard that song I must have been nine or ten. I remember how my dad loved to belt it out especially after he had a swig or two. When he drank he was very happy...no moody blues with him and of course the song got lodged in my memory.

I remember that he used to sing military tunes too. My mother found out the hard way when her three year old son came home from play one day singing..."You're in the army now! You'll never get rich...you son of a b----! You're in the army now!"

Ah yes, fond memories. After my mother lectured my little brother she turned on my poor father and told him what for.

You never know what you may sing when you're tipsy or what song your child will have seared in their subconscious...so beware, be very aware the next time you are tempted to hug that little brown jug.