Hang Down Your Head

Alice waiting or her ice cream bar.

Today the Johnson children moved from scary stories around the campfire to songs about murder.

One of the first guitar songs Bonnie is learning to play on the guitar is Tom Dooley.

We were looking at phrases about fright; stabbed with a knife, bound to die, and hanging from the white oak tree.

We also had to consider the topic about why a man might want to hang down his head, or in the case of Tom Dooley, had to hang down his head for he didn’t make it to another county, and so will have to pay the price.

Betty half way through her ice cream bar.

When I asked Alice what was going to happen to Tom Dooley, she put her hands around her throat, made her eyes bug out, made a strangling sound with her throat, and put on the finishing touch ending with her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. I guess she got it.

Singing happened down in what Bonnie coined “The music café.” All of our songs are played in the key of C major or G major. These may not be the keys that are the easiest for us to sing it in, but that is all Bonnie knows how to do on the guitar so far.

When the songs were done, Alice suggested we all go up to “the cafeteria” (the kitchen).

Michael with as much chocolate on his face 
as his grandmother gets on hers.

We had some ice cream.

We also took a look at the song “Worried Man Blues.”

I asked them if they had ever seen their mother or father worried.

Michael said, “not really.”

That was funny. It just goes to show you how little children really know about their parents.