In chapter 5 when they are in church singing a hymn what did Tom mean when he told Willie to ‘lah it’?
Tom's "lah it" is basically saying 'sing it'. Tom is referring to his Northern English accent.
Since William can't read the words in the hymn book. Tom just said to lah along to the melody of the song. By lah he literally just meant he should sing the words 'la la la la la' to the rhythm of the song.
Willie didn't know the tune and as he couldn't read he couldn't even follow the words. He glanced aside at the ginger-haired twins. They were sharing a hymn book and singing. He envied them. 'Lah it,' he heard Tom whisper. 'Go on, lah it.' Willie did so and soon picked up the melody until he almost began to enjoy it.
