What is your troops favorite "camp" song?

[Shell in WA- USA]

After seeing the "Polynesian Duck Dance," it made me wonder...

I can't get our troop boys to sing at all! And they mostly mumble at camp when they have to do it. How do you get your boys to do it? What kinds of songs do they like?

[Eamonn]

Me thinks that you might set our dear friend Old Grey Eagle off.

I really enjoy a good well ran Camp Fire. Many moons ago I took the Camp Fire Leaders course at Gilwell Park.

As you have said you can bring a Scout to a camp fire but you can't make him sing. To get your group to join in you might want to try some of the Repeat After Me Songs, the ones that get louder and louder are good. Not a lot of singing but a lot of participation.

At times camp fires can be a hard sell. It really helps if the people running the camp fire are really into it and look like they are enjoying themselves.

It used to be that at District Camporees that I ran the camp fire. We now have a SPL from one of the troops take charge. When we manage to keep the adults at bay things work out fine. Some of the skits are a little lame but that's fine.

Eamonn

[OldGreyEagle]

All time favorite song is the "Boy Scout Sunday School". then of course followed by Green Grow the Rushes Ho. For sheer fun you can't beat She'll Becomming 'round the mountian when she comes or all standard and non-standard verses of Clementine. Good 'ol Johnny Verbeck works at times and Star Trekkin is pretty good as well. WHen the boys want to sing they know all they have to do is put my face to a fire and I can go until the fire is out or they all leave, which is only after a few hours. The scouts will sing if the adults do and do so with gusto. I am currently reworking an old skit that I wrote with YoungSpikedEagle a few years back. Its a killer guranteed to please the youth while making more than a few scouters scratch their heads.

 

A real crowd pleaser as Eamonn mentioned is anything you can do loud, so Froggie does it for me, and as a french Voyageur, Alouette can get raucous as well.

 

Well those are a few, I could go on and on with songs, and poems, love shaving cream, but you have be careful with that one

[FScouter]

All together now -

"Young folks, old folks, everybody come

Join the Boy Scout Sunday School and have a lot of fun...

 

[packsaddle]

Seasonal favorite: Randolf the Texas Cowboy

All round favorite: Henery the Eight (second verse, same as the first)

Unexplainable: How much is that doggie in the window, arf, arf (this one scares me a little)

and a final perversion for a safety song:

My Bonnie looked into the gas tank,

Its contents she wanted to see,

She lit a small match to assist her,

Oh bring back my Bonnie to me.

[Fat Old Guy]

I'll go with "Friggin' in the Riggin'" . . . wait . . . no, that's not a Scout song.

 

Froggie isn't bad. I like Herman the Worm. Walloping Window Blind.

[Balding Eagle]

Super Lizard, Bill Grogans Goat. Boom Chicka Boom and The Great Ship (Titanic).

 

At summer camp the riffle instructor used to sing the Great Ship after dinner in the mess hall. He was a tall man and used to jump up and hit the rafters of the mess hall with a great big boom! Everyone loved it when he would sing it.

 

 

 

[VentureScoutNY]

I couldn't get my Troop to sing if I paid them! In fact, at every Camporee I have ever been too, almost every year that I was a Boy Scout, I can remember only 2 occassions where other Troops sang. I guess it's not all that popular where I am... Plenty of skits though, some with songs, but very rare to hear a scout Troop singing songs.

[Eamonn]

http://www.scoutsongs.com

You will find a nice list of Scout Songs with the lyrics.

Our Summer Camp got away from singing in the dining hall. Last year they brought it back.

I for one am a Happy Camper (Old Time cool Dude,)

Eamonn

[Proud Eagle]

My troop seems to avoid songs like the plague. It may have something to do with the overly cheery adult song leader we had a few years back that seemed to think we needed to learn a new song at every meeting. Everyone was quite glad when she got too busy with work related things to continue, because no one had the stomach to ask her to stop.

[Eamonn]

Looking at Proud Eagles posting makes me feel good about being a bad tempered miserable old goat.

Eamonn

[Woodsmith]

I thought I had a pretty long list of songs (not that I ever sang them in Scouts -- I got them from my long-time Scouter Dad -- we used to sing em around the family campfire), but I don't know Boy Scout Sunday School -- and I don't see it at the scoutsongs link... anyone help here?

Also -- I grew up with "Green Grow the Rushes Ho" -- anyone have an explanation behind the lyrics? I know there must be a significant religious story there, but I'm not making the connection...

[OldGreyEagle]

http://www.whitetreeaz.com/yfof/yfof.htm

 

The chorus goes

 

Young Folks Old Folks Everybody Come

To the Boy Scout Sunday School and have a lot of Fun

Put your Backpacks, Sleeping Bags and Canteens at the door

And you'll hear some bible stories that you've never heard before

 

 

 

For Green Grow The Rushes

 

http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=2414(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[dsteele]

My personal favorite to lead is "The Cat Came Back." Very bluesy and the crowd only need to learn the chorus.

 

The favorites in the troop I grew up in were "Trail the Eagle," and "Do your ears hang low?" "Green grow the rushes ho" was a great one as well, but the only one who really knew it was the SPL and once he moved on, the song went with him.

 

Of course, back in the day, a good rousing rendition of "Mountain Dew" was a great use of campfire opening time. However, current PC practice has just about killed that tune. I remember it, though, and secretly sing it in the shower from time to time. As a kid, I didn't know they were talking about moonshine. I thought it was about that green soda.

 

Then someone taught me the Scoutmaster version of "Head, shoulders, knees and toes." It's called "Head, shoulders, belly, belt."

[Eamonn]

Dear Uncleguinea

While I feel sure that your intentions were good and your vision and mission were focused. I feel that your Scoutmaster version of Head,Shoulders, Knees and Toes is not suitable for Scouts.

I have spent the last half hour singing it to my dogs. The English Setter was so offended that he has departed to the bedroom. The Collie has taken to giving me looks that can only be described as a cross between utter shock and dismay. If this song can cause such feelings in a pair of canines I shudder to think of what the outcome might be if it were to be presented to children of an impressionable age!!

The problem lies with the word Belt.

Try as I may every time I try to sing the word Belt, I find myself singing the word Butt.

As I'm sure you are aware while the word But is permissible at all Scouting functions, all efforts have been made not to use it. Mainly because it is followed by some very lame excuse for not doing something.

However the addition of the extra T, making the word Butt is not acceptable as it might be seen as a gray area. Of course I in no way am saying that the Butt is a gray Butt, but the area might be considered a gray one.

A simple solution to this horrific situation is to change the Belly and the Belt, thus making it Belt and Belly. You do need to insert the word and.

As to the song "Do your Ears Hang Low". We do need to use care that this song is not sung anywhere near Prince Charles.

Eamonn