What is the meaning of soalin in Peter Paul and Mary song A Solin?

Answer 1

"Years ago in a small town in Estonia, there was a shoemaker who lived with small family and he was totally dependent on the citizens of the town for his livelihood. Unfortunately, most of the town went shoeless. The shoemaker was forced to travel to Finland to ply his trade and would sing out as he passed through the towns. The Finns at this time were wearing mostly wooden clogs. Meanwhile, back in Estonia, the Russians were plotting at the border. Finally in his later days the shoe maker was able through hard work and diligence attain some level of success. Most of the Russian hoards wore boots. He would sing out the Russian words, "Here I go 'a solin'" In truth unbeknownst to the Russians, the shoemaker was actually hurling insults at them."

Source: Jorge's Encyclopedia of the Improbable. 5th edition.