Yorùbá Primary School Songs: Issues and Lessons for the Younger Generation

Abstract

Song is a worldwide phenomenon. It is a short metrical composition intended or adapted for singing, especially in rhymed stanzas. It can be a lyric or ballad. The usage of songs cannot be over emphasized among the people of Yoruba society. There are various ways in which the Yoruba make use of various songs and their society; such songs include festival songs, folktale, political songs, songs of mother of twins, satirical songs among others. In this paper, primary school Yoruba songs will be looked into. It is noted that there are songs that can be categorized as school children songs. These songs are sung during school hours like assembly time, break time, closing hour, and playtime among others. These songs are composed in a way to teach the school children morals, encourage them in their academics and to pass instructional lessons across to them. These songs have gone a long way in building the characters of the pupils.