Land of song and wails, we're told (5)
I believe the answer is:
wales
'land' is the definition.
(Wales is an example)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for wales that I've seen before include "Cymru" , "International team" , "Home to Snowdonia and the Gower Peninsula" , "UK country" , "Part of Great Britain" .)