# Camp songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026 "2010-06-13T16:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/1 "2010-06-13T16:16:13Z")
Inspired by this, [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=8614](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=8614) I would chase my little sister around the house/yard singing “Ohhh the Slithery Dee”. I also on occasion give my own children the same. What other golden little ditties do you remember, and do you still sing them to your children, or nieces and nephews as the case may be? ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/2 "2010-06-14T04:15:32Z")
I went to YMCA Summer Camp for two weeks at a time for three straight summers in the early 60s. Loved it. Top of the hit parade during my years there (excerpted lyrics included): **The Titanic** Oh they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue And the people said that the water couldn’t get through (Next two lines lost to memory…however I remember the final verse it its entirety) Oh the captain smiled and winked, as the ship began to sink And he said “The fish are surely going to stink” So he SOS’ed the Lord, and he jumped right overboard It was sad when the great ship went down (chorus) It was sad (so sad), it was sad (so sad) It was sad when the great ship went down (to the bottom of the) Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives It was sad when the great ship went down **The Dummy Line** (chorus) On the dummy line, on the dummy line Rain or shine I’ll pay my fine Rain or shine I’ll pay my fine Ridin’ ridin’ ridin’ on the dummy dummy line (This was just the framing device for endless verses that were no doubt shared between many songs. The one I remember…and of course we thought we were so naughty when we sang it…) Two old men dressed in black Tried to get to heaven in a Cadillac One tripped, the other fell Instead of goin’ to heaven they went to WELLLLL, On the dummy line etc. **Underwear** (This was my favorite, and I still remember it in its entirety. It was sung to the tune of the World War I song “Over There”) Underwear, underwear How I itch in my woolen underwear Oh I wish I’d gotten some made of cotton So I wouldn’t itch the way I do My B.V.D.'s, they make me sneeze When the breeze from the trees hits my knees Oh how they itch me Oh how they itch me Oh these gosh darn, gosh darn woolen underwear Hey! I taught this one to my kids when they were little (came in handy on long car trips), and I’ll bet they can still sing it today. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/3 "2010-06-14T04:51:48Z")
The Girl Scout camp one sang at night. ## Day is done, Gone the sun, From the earth and the plains and the sky, All is well,safely rest, God is nigh… ## There were 10 in the bed and the little one said, roll over, roll over, So they all rolled over and one fell out there were 9 in the bed and the little one said roll over roll over, etc. keep it going. On top of old smokey All covered in cheese I lost my poor meatball…? To some strange disease? I may have got a few words wrong as it is from memory. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/4 "2010-06-14T05:51:54Z")
[quote=“DChord568, post:2, topic:543026”] > [@](#): > > … **The Titanic** … Here’s how I learned it: Oh, they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue And they thought they had a ship that the water wouldn’t go thru It was on her maiden trip when an iceberg hit the ship It was sad when the great ship went down Chorus: Oh it was sad, so sad It was sad, so sad It was sad when the great ship went down To the bottom of the seeeeeeeeea (harmony: Husband and wives, little children lost their lives) It was sad when the great ship went down. It was off the English shore Bout a hundred miles or more When the rich refused to associate with the poor So they put them down below where they were the first to go It was sad when the great ship went down (chorus) The captain stood on deck with a teardrop in his eye To the last lifeboat he waved a sad goodbye He knew he’d made a slip so he went down with the ship It was sad when the great ship went down (chorus) So they built another ship called the SS Mary Lou And they painted her with white and they painted her with blue And they christened her with BEER! and she sunk right off the pier It was sad when the great ship went down (chorus, with harmony: Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants) It was sad when the great ship went down GLUB GLUB GLUB! ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/5 "2010-06-14T06:07:31Z")
Another song that I loved from Girl Scout camp: SUITORS There are suitors at my door, O le le o bahia Six or eight or even more, O le le o bahia And my father wants me wed, O le le o bahia Or at least that’s what he said, O le le o bahia CHORUS: O le O la, O le le a bahia O le O la, O le le a bahia O le O la, O le le a bahia O le O la, O le le a bahia And I told him that I will, O le le o bahia When the rivers flow uphill, O le le o bahia Or the fish begin to fly O le le o bahia Or the day before I die. O le le o bahia CHORUS And my father said to me, O le le o bahia You will wait and you will see, O le le o bahia What a paradise for two, O le le o bahia Married life can be for you. O le le o bahia CHORUS I got married just today, O le le o bahia And the rivers run that way, O le le o bahia And some fish know how to fly, O le le o bahia So tomorrow I must die. O le le o bahia ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/6 "2010-06-14T06:15:15Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > Here’s how I learned it: > > Oh, they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue > And they thought they had a ship that the water wouldn’t go thru > It was on her maiden trip when an iceberg hit the ship > It was sad when the great ship went down > > Chorus: > Oh it was sad, so sad > It was sad, so sad > It was sad when the great ship went down > To the bottom of the seeeeeeeeea (harmony: Husband and wives, little children lost their lives) > It was sad when the great ship went down. > > It was off the English shore > Bout a hundred miles or more > When the rich refused to associate with the poor > So they put them down below where they were the first to go > It was sad when the great ship went down > > (chorus) > > The captain stood on deck with a teardrop in his eye > To the last lifeboat he waved a sad goodbye > He knew he’d made a slip so he went down with the ship > It was sad when the great ship went down > > (chorus) > > So they built another ship called the SS Mary Lou > And they painted her with white and they painted her with blue > And they christened her with BEER! and she sunk right off the pier > It was sad when the great ship went down > > (chorus, with harmony: Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants) > It was sad when the great ship went down > > GLUB GLUB GLUB! I imagine this is one with a million different versions. We did the “rich refused to associate with the poor” verse, but I don’t recognize any of the others…including the “uncles and aunts” variation! ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/7 "2010-06-14T09:47:13Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > The Girl Scout camp one sang at night. > > Day is done, Gone the sun, From the earth and the plains and the sky, All is well,safely rest, God is nigh… My Girl Guide unit does that too! And we have a version for the day time as well: Thanks and praise, For our days, 'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, 'neath the sky As we go, this we know, God is nigh > [@](#): > > On top of old smokey > All covered in cheese > I lost my poor meatball…? To some strange disease? > > I may have got a few words wrong as it is from memory. I learned it as: On top of spaghetti All covered with cheese I lost my poor meatball When somebody sneezed It rolled off the table And onto the floor And then my poor meatball Rolled straight out the door It rolled into the garden And under a bush And then my poor meatball Was nothing but mush I was at a campfire just two weeks ago (I got to lead the singing!), so a lot of songs like these are fresh in my head. And my region is having a big campfire on Saturday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Guiding. I could post a whole songbook, but I’ll limit myself to one. To market, to market went my brother Jim Somebody threw a tomato at him Now, tomatoes are soft and they don’t hurt the skin But the one that killed Jimmy was wrapped in a tin [chorus] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 And a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 I looked out my window so early one morn There was a tramp who was munching the lawn I said “My good man, if you’re after a snack The grass is much longer around the back.” [chorus] I called on my girls, her name was Miss Brown She was having a shower and couldn’t come down I said “Slip on something, you’d better be quick” She slipped on the soap and, my word, she was quick [chorus] Mary the milkmaid was milking the cow The trouble with Mary, she didn’t know how The farmer came out and he gave her the sack So she turned the cow over and poured the milk back [chorus] ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/8 "2010-06-14T10:01:07Z")
I’m curious to know if the Calomine Lotion Song and the Toilet Bowl Song are regional and only in my area. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/9 "2010-06-14T10:58:18Z")
I learned: I’m a juvenile delinquent and I can’t go home no more I’m a juvenile delinquent no I can’t go home no more My momma hates me Can’t go home no more My Daddy beats me Can’t go home no more And then there’s granny–swinging on the outhouse door Without her nighties Even though she’s 94–she’s very sexy And Granpa shoutin’ “More more more, I’m gonna getcha” Swinging on the outhouse door The girl scout leaders said we were allowed to sing it but please don’t teach it to the Brownie scouts. ---
**Author:** ![rayman5321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@rayman5321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayman5321)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/10 "2010-06-14T11:35:08Z")
Oh I wish I was a little jar of Mum. Oh I wish I was a little jar of Mum. I’d fix up Auntie Nellie so she wouldn’t be so smelly. Oh I wish I was a little jar of Mum. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/11 "2010-06-14T15:58:07Z")
As I was walking down the street, one dark and windy day. I came upon a billboard, and much to my dismay. The sign was torn and tattered from the rain the night before, The wind and rain had done its job, for this is what I saw. Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes, chew Wrigley’s spearmint beer. Kennel-Ration dog food keeps your complexion clear. Sanitize your baby with a Hershey’s candy bar And Texaco’s the beauty cream that’s used by all the Stars. Take your next vacation in a brand new Frigidaire Learn to play the piano in your grandmother’s underwear Doctors say that babies should smoke till they are three, And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton tea. ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/12 "2010-06-14T16:14:17Z")
I went to Pokagon Girls’ Camp (overnight camp, stayed a month) when I was about 12, for which a song was specially written, that went something like this (cue tone on kazoo…) _We are the nun, nun, nuns of PGC There ain’t a damn boy in this nunnery Every night at nine they bar the doors I don’t know what the hell I ever came here for!_ It was to the tune of a familiar song that I can’t identify, something circa the '40’s, I would guess. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/13 "2010-06-14T16:21:56Z")
The worms crawl in The worms crawl out. The worms play pinochle on your snout. Your stomach turns a limey green, Your eyes pop out like whipping cream. You put them on a slice of bread, And that’s what you eat when you are dead. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/14 "2010-06-14T16:29:58Z")
I’ve heard most of these songs (or at least heard _of_ them). But our daughter MilliCal goes off to Girl Scout Camp each year and comes back with a new crop of songs we’d never heard of before. Like the Moose Song: [http://www.lcsd.k12.wa.us/~wwesterberg/camp/moose\_song.htm](http://www.lcsd.k12.wa.us/~wwesterberg/camp/moose_song.htm) > **[Moose Song - Ultimate Camp Resource](https://ultimatecampresource.com/camp-songs/silly-camp-songs/moose-song/)** > > Requirements Objective Description There was a great big moose He liked to drink a lot of juice There was a great big moose He like to drink a lot of juice (Chorus) Singin’ way-o way-o Way-o way-o way-o way-o Way-o way-o Way-o way-o way-o way-o The... Whereas when I was in Boy Scouts one popular camp song was the (no doubt now _extremely_ un-PC) _salvation Army_: [http://itsafrogslife.net/goodbook/s.htm](http://itsafrogslife.net/goodbook/s.htm) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/15 "2010-06-14T16:34:40Z")
Little Tommy Tucker, Sat on a yucca, He began to cry: MA!!! PA!!! Poor little stuck-up guy. No camp song thread would be complete without _John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith_! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/16 "2010-06-14T17:00:24Z")
> [@Rala](#): > > … > I learned it as: > > On top of spaghetti > All covered with cheese > I lost my poor meatball > When somebody sneezed > It rolled off the table > And onto the floor > And then my poor meatball > Rolled straight out the door > It rolled into the garden > And under a bush > And then my poor meatball > Was nothing but mush… THe rest of it (that I know) Goes as follows: The mush was as tasty, as tasty could be, and early next summer It grew into a tree. The tree was all covered with beautiful moss and great big old meatballs In to-mat-o sauce. So if you eat spaghetti All covered with cheese, Hold on to your Meatball and don’t ever Ah ah AHCOOO! sneeze! Another one of my favorites: I woke up in the morning and spied upon the wall, The bedbugs and the roaches were having a game of ball, The score was 19-20, the roaches were ahead, The bedbugs hit a homerun and knocked me out of bed. eeny, meeny, meeny, miney, mo Catch a rebel, rebel by his toe And if he hollers, hollers, hollers, let him go, Singin’ hey boys, row them, hey boys, row them boats. It was midnight in the alley, not a trolley car in sight, I stepped into the drugstore to get myself a bite, The man behind the counter was a lady, old and gray, Who used to peddle shoestrings on the road to Mandolay. eeny, meeny, meeny, miney, mo Catch a rebel, rebel by his toe And if he hollers, hollers, hollers, let him go, Singin’ hey boys, row them, hey boys, row them boats. My Mother was a robber, my Father was a spy, and I was just the big mouth kid who called the FBI! I crawled into the sewer and that is where I died they didn’t call it murder they called it SEWERCIDE! eeny, meeny, meeny, miney, mo Catch a rebel, rebel by his toe And if he hollers, hollers, hollers, let him go, Singin’ hey boys, row them, hey boys, row them boats ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/camp-songs/543026/17 "2010-06-14T19:34:19Z")
One of my all time favorite camp songs: \*\*“The Desperado” [Chorus] Oh the big bad man was a Desperado From Cripple Creek way out in Coloroado And he walks around like a squshed tomato And everywhere he goes he shouts his war-whoop. There was a Desperado from the wild and wooly west He went over to Chicago to give the west a rest He wore a big sombrero and two guns beneath his vest And everywhere he goes he shouts his war-whoop. [Chorus] He went to Coney Island to take in all the sights To see the hoochie-coochies and the girls dressed up in tights He got so darn excited that he shot out all the lights And everywhere he goes he shouts his war-whoop. [Chorus] There was a big policeman a walkin’ on his beat He spied the Desperado, a walkin’ down the street He grabbed him by the collar and he grabbed him by his seat And threw him where he couldn’t shout his war-whoop [Chorus] \*\* And how could anyone not mention that old classic, [Mounting Dew](http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/mountaindew.html)?