Quot capita tot sensus

Ooh my home, oh my home,
Oh my home, oh my home,
When shall I see my home?
When shall I see my native land?
I will never forget my home!

Interpretations can vary as deemed apposite by the one who gives meaning. The tune can refer to the Israelites by the Rivers of Babylon. For them, deep nostalgia will have settled and the only satiation they can get will be when their feet stand within the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. It can be applied to the negroes sweating in the sweltering heat of the unending plantations of their "Massa" who rewards their dereliction of duty with extra whips to their already corrugated backs. How dare they chant wishful songs when there's the plantation field to labour over.

That barely scratches the surface. As many as there are heads to give it thought, there are meanings to be got. It can refer to the Diasporan who dreams of the good old days with a glorified romanticisation of the past and a memory that conspires to block out the hustle and bustle of what it used to be back in the days feeding the mind with only the good, bright and memorable aspects.

Another can see in it the yearnings of a wayfaring President whose wholesome duties have taken him far from the embrace of his ranch, the sweetness of the dust in the morning, the percolating stench of the dung from the adjoining herd, the disturbances of the cattle rustlers, the rest of the nomadic wanderings. In all, it may be thought that he'd now envy the blithely candour of his predecessor from whose adrift meanderings he came about his present duties.

And for another, it might simply be the result of an overindulgent memory that juggles things from the past and the present with the adroitness of one with a finger on the pulse of tomorrow. This one will have quickly recalled how this was a song for the Assembly that was called every day of the school week and from where pupils marched soldierly to the classroom for the day's subjects. And it will have brought back a few tender memories of theirs from those beautiful days. And maybe a different song as well.

Drawing meanings can be like armpits sometimes. No, not the implication that it smells. Without discountenancing that aspect, its semblance to armpit is that you'd always find someone with one meaning to something. Or two.

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