The borrowed song

Original non-fiction-style practice text.

Our school song contains a reference to a bell tower which was demolished before I was born. For years, I sang it without knowing where the tower stood. Last term, a teacher brought a photograph and explained the line. The absurd words suddenly acquired an address.

I still think one verse is too long, and I would not make enthusiasm a condition of belonging. People can care about a school without enjoying its tune. But I no longer want the whole song discarded simply because parts of it sound old. An explained oddity can connect us with people who used a different building and expected a different future.

Teach the history before demanding the chorus. Then let us decide how to sing it. I suspect a little knowledge would produce more willing voices than another assembly telling us that tradition matters.

Assess the writer’s attitude towards singing the school’s old song. Use three details from the text to support your answer.