Use the song

From the age of seventeen through twenty, I spent my vacations in Devonshire. The first trip was to stay at an English holiday camp in South Devon with a cousin and my aunt. After the initial trip, I returned to North Devon for several visits to a small hotel, or to stay at a friend's home.

On one occasion I started my trip with a week at a hotel, and then I went to stay at my friend's home. The instructions I had been given were to notify him of my arrival using this song. He did not like to open his door to anybody, in case it was religious people or a specific nosey neighbor that he had a problem with. I was a little concerned, as I did not know if I were supposed to sing the song or just to use the title and hit upon the door three times.

On departing from the hotel after a fully cooked breakfast, I carried my suitcase for a couple of miles to my friend's home. Luckily, I did not pack too much in the case, though these days I would have called a cab anyway. Along the country lanes I trod, trying to figure out if I should perhaps bang on the door and sing the song, or if I was expected to only participate in one ritual. I was quite panicky and stressed as I finally arrived.

I need not have concerned myself, for on arriving outside, my friend was just coming around the corner from a trip to the grocery store and called out to me. I had gotten upset for no reason after all. The song still stands out as a memory of that long and stressful walk.