Who knows the complete lyrics to these "camp" songs?

Cafe Society
21

I grew up with the Mitch Miller Christmas album and I sort of love it. I now have it on cassette tape! Say what you will, but I always seem to be the only person at Christmas gatherings who know all the words when the caroling begins. Thanks to Mitch! (Go on, I dare you to try and sing Sleigh Ride all they way through by yourself.) :slight_smile:

I also know many camp and elementary-school songs, including the beloved Greasy Grimey Gopher Guts. Regarding the watermelon song, it’s not surprising that I learned the words as “… now Kentucky Fried Chicken may taste mighty fine…” seeing as how I live in Kentucky, but it could have been changed to that elsewhere as well in the 60s and 70s, my formative camp-song singing years.

I know several nonsense songs. Anyone heard this? I couldn’t even begin to guess what the tune is.

*Woomba, woomba, woomba!
Ging gong gooey gooey watchcha,
Ging gong gay, ging gong gay.
Ging gong gooey gooey watchcha,
Ging gong gay, ging gong gay.
Aye-ya, OOMP.
Aye-ya kow-wa, OOOMP.
Aya kow-wa, OOMP.
Aye-ya HOY, toy, toy. *

I wonder if it was supposed to mimic an Indian song of some sort. Maybe it was specific to the camp I went to. It’s always been one of the weirder songs I know and pops into my head now and again.

How about –

*No matter how young a prune may be
He’s always full of wrinkles.
A baby prune is like his dad
But he’s not wrinkled quite so bad.
We have wrinkles on our face.
A prune has wrinkles every place!
No matter how young a prune may be
He’s always full of wrinkles.

Second verse, same as the first!
A little bit louder and a little bit worse!
Etc.*

My 8-year-old daughter came home singing the “I’m a little piece of tin” song the other day, so the tradition lives on.

22

Isn’t it fun how I keep posting to this thread? Sometimes double-posting?

Anyway, I don’t know the tune to the Little Pile of Tin song, either. I mean, I can sing it, but I don’t know what it’s based on. Also, ladies and germs, I just remembered yet another vers/version (please, somebody stop me!)

Coca-Cola came to town,
Pepsi Cola shot him down.
Dr. Pepper fixed him up
Now we all drink 7-Up
La di da
My sweet cream soda pop
La di da
My sweet cream soda pop
La di da
My sweet cream soda pop
La di da, la di da, la di da da da!

Ellen Cherry, you’re the first person I’ve ever met–outside of my family–who knows the prune song! Yay! In fact, there’s a spoken bit that we do, too. You cup your hands together (to form a prune-like shape and peer into the space between your thumbs, and say (in a babyish voice)

Little seed inside the pru-in,
What’s you say, and what’s you doin’?
Is it night, or is it noon (noo-in),
Little seed inside the pru-in?

And then it ends with…
NOOOOOOO matter how young a prune may be
He’s always getting wrinkles.
Nooooo matter how young a prune may be
He’s always getting stewed (or more accurately, stooooo-OOOOOwed!)

23

OK, it’s me AGAIN. Sorry!

I just talked to my boss about this (he’s extremely musical), and he also knew the tune (and two more songs to it), but didn’t know where it came from. So he called his music-teacher wife and asked her to call me with the name of the melody. I’ll be back when she gets back to me.

24

*Oh I wish I was a fishie in the sea (in the sea)
Oh I wish I was a fishie in the sea (in the sea)
Oh wouldn’t I look cutie, without my bathing suitie,
Oh I wish I was a fishie in the sea (in the sea).

Oh I wish I was a barrel of beer (of beer)
Oh I wish I was a barrel of beer (of beer)
Oh I’d go down with a slurpee, and I’d come up with a burpee,
Oh I wish I was a barrel of beer (of beer).

Oh I wish I was a bar of soap (bar of soap)
Oh I wish I was a bar of soap (bar of soap)
Oh I’d slippy and I’d slidy, over everybody’s hiney,
Oh I wish I was a bar of soap (bar of soap).*

Thank you, thank you very much.

25

I dunno, Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts is a classic and all, but to my mind, you can’t beat Tom the Toad or Gory Corey.

Tom the Toad
(to the tune of “Oh Tannenbaum”)
Oh, Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?
Oh, Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?
You did not see the car ahead
And now you’re wearing tire tread
Oh, Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad
Why are you lying on the road?

I think there were other verses, too, but I can’t remember them.

Gory Corey
(to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic)
He jumped from twenty thousand feet and didn’t pull the cord
He jumped from twenty thousand feet and didn’t pull the cord
He jumped from twenty thousand feet and didn’t pull the cord
And he ain’t gonna jump no more (no more!)

(chorus)
Gory Corey, what a heck of a way to die
Gory Corey, what a heck of a way to die
Gory Corey, what a heck of a way to die
And he ain’t gonna jump no more (no more!)

He splattered on the highway like a lump of strawberry jam
…

(chorus)

They scraped him off the highway with a shovel and a rake
…

(chorus)

They shipped him home to Mother on a slice of moldy bread
…

(chorus)

His mother wasn’t home, so they slipped him under the door
…

(chorus)

Et cetera. Trust me, you don’t want to hear all of the verses.

26

There’s also the “Cooties and Bedbugs Song:”

Woke up in the morning
Looked up on the wall
The cooties and the bedbugs
Were having a game of ball
The score was six to nothing, the bedbugs were ahead
The cooties scored a homerun
And knocked me out of bed!

And:

Now I lay me down to sleep
With the boy across the street
Won’t my mommy be surprised
When she sees my little tummy rise!

(Chorus) Boom boom ain’t it great to be crazy
Boom boom ain’t it great to be nuts nuts nuts
Silly and foolish all day long
Boom boom ain’t it great to be crazy!

The latter had several verses which I can’t recall right now; it was another song we were allowed to sing on condition that we didn’t teach it to the younger kids.

27

Oh, there’s more to this one!

I woke up Sunday morning
And looked up on the wall
The beetles and the bedbugs
Were playing a game of ball singing,
“Eeenie Meenie and a myney mo
Catch a wiffer-waffer-wiffer by the toe
And if he hollers hollers hollers will you let him go?
Singing, eeenie meenie and a myney mo.”

The score was six to mothing
The bedbugs were ahead
The beetles hit a homerun
And knocked me out of bed, singing
“Eeenie Meenie and a myney mo
Catch a wiffer-waffer-wiffer by the toe
And if he hollers hollers hollers will you let him go?
Singing, eeenie meenie and a myney mo.”

I rolled into the sewer
And that is where I died
They did not call it murder
They called it ‘sewercide’, singing
“Eeenie Meenie and a myney mo
Catch a wiffer-waffer-wiffer by the toe
And if he hollers hollers hollers will you let him go?
Singing, eeenie meenie and a myney mo.”

There was also a verse about “my mother is a German, my father is a spy”, but we didn’t sing that one in the dining hall.

We had a song like the Ford one, except it started “I’m a little hunk of tin”.

28

Oh, that’s neat. We sung an abbreviated version that just went

And then there’s __________
Swinging on the outhouse door
Without her nighties (duh duh duh)
Swinging on the outhouse door
With just her_______ (duh duh duh)
Swinging on the outhouse door
And that ain’t allllll…

I figured there must be a full length song around that, but I never heard it. That reminds me of another abridged song, if anyone knows the whole thing:

Let’s go down in your satin gown with your pointed high-heel shoes.
Let’s go down in your gabardine slacks with the midnight skylight on your back.

(or something like that)

Another shortened one was

A way out on the desert
Where nature favors no man
A buffalo and his brother
A lyin’ in the sand.
He said, “Dear brother, what ails you?
What makes you lie that way?”
His brother did not answer.
His brother had been dead
Since way, last May.
(and then there’s a really fast part, but no one really seemed to know how it went.)

29

“Dad’s Old fashioned root beer. Same old stuff as last year. Going on it’s third year. Hope this is the last year. Get your sixpack right here.” Yell at “year”.
“My Old man’s a welder- what do you think about that? He wears a weeeelders apron, and a weeelders hat, and every Sunday evening, he reads the Sunday News. blah blah blah- and somedaaaayay if I can- I’m gonna be a welder, just like my dear Old Man”.

“Oh you can’t get to heaven in my Dad’s Blue car…because my dads blue car stops at every bar”

Proustian.

30

Sorry to triple post, but here is “Boom Boom Ain’t It Great To Be Crazy” as I learned it:

(chorus) Boom Boom Ain’t it great to be crazy
Boom Boom Ain’t it great to be nuts like us
Silly and foolish all day long
Boom Boom Ain’t it great to be crazy

Eli, Eli, Sellin’ Socks
A dollar a pair and a nickel a box
The longer you wear them , the shorter they get
Put 'em in the water and they don’t get wet!

(chorus)

(I don’t remember this verse, but it has to do with some animals playing pool. The last line is “‘Whoops,’ said the flea, ‘there’s a horse on me!’”)
I know (or at least I thought I knew) a ton of these, but I’ll post the others later.

31

She sat under the lilacs and played her guitar
Played her guitar
Played her guitar
She sat under the lilacs and played her guitar
Played her gita-ah-ah-ar.

Oom-plucka-plucka
Oom-plucka-plucka
Oom-pluck-pluck-pluck

He sat down beside her and smoked his cigar
etc

Oom-plucka-plucka
etc

He said that he loved her, but o! how he lied!

Oom-plucka-plucka

(something about her dying)

He sat by her tombstone and laughed till he cried

Oom-plucka-plucka

The tombstone fell over and squish!squash! he died!

Oom-plucka-plucka

She went up to heaven and flittered and flied

Oom-plucka-plucka

He went down there and frittered and fried

32

Man, if folks can reference where the tune came from, it’s a HUGE help in remembering these things, hahah!

Here’s mine that I only know part of (if anyone knows the rest of the lyrics, I would be eternally grateful…it’s been stuck in my head as just a few lines since I was about 9!)
…
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
They play peaknuckle all over your snout,
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes…
…

I can hear the tune, but it eludes me…seems to remind me of the Addams family theme, but I could be wrong…

33

Am I the only person who thought this was a thread about Village People songs?

34

To the tune of Clemintine:

In the cabinet, in the bathroom, o’er the sink whos faucets shine;
stands a funny little bottle and they call it iodine.
Oh you funny, oh you funny, oh you funny iodine;
you don’t taste good with a cookie but for booboos your just fine.

35

Another Colonel Bogey:

Hitler has only got one ball.
Goering has two, but they are small.
Himmler has something sim’lar,
And Goebbels has no balls at all!

I have no idea where I learned that.

36

Glad to be on your wavelength, Beadlin!

Knighted Vorpal Sword – I know more of your song!

Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow (English sparrow)
Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow (English sparrow)
I’d sit up on the steeple and spit upon the people
Oh I wish I were a little English sparrow (English sparrow).*

Something tells me that the orginal lyrics were "sht on all the people." Wouldn’t you agree? We good girls at camp didn’t know the bad lyrics.

But we did sing this, which I’d guess comes from a girls’ boarding school:

Girls, girls, girls that’s all we see!
There’s not a boy in this vicinity.
Every night at 10 they bar the doors.
Oh how I wish that I could see a boy once more.
But when Friday night comes rollin’ round
We’re gonna turn this whole town upside down!
We’re gonna find those boys and
Neck and neck and neck and neck and
Heck with all those girls!

When you’re 10 the concept of unlimited necking is pretty racy. LOL

For me the Ultimate Camp Song ™ was always Topnotcher. Again, I have no idea if this was exclusive to my camp or not, but it’s a body part type song. You start with the top of your head, adding things on the way down with each new verse …

I point to myself what is this? Here?
This is my topnotcher, ya ma my dear.
Topnotcher, ya ma my dear.
That’s what I learned at this camp, boom-boom.

Then you come back up, with your new one from the previous verse. Here’s the very last verse, which includes everything. And a-one, and a-two …

I point to myself what is this? Here?
These are my toe-tappers ya ma, my dear.
Toe tappers,
knee-knockers,
hip huggers,
bread basket,
chest-protector,
rubber-necker,
chin-chowser,
lunch-eater,
soup-strainer,
horn-blower,
boy-water,
sweat-browser,
top-notcher, ya ma, my dear.
That’s what I learned at this camp, BOOM-BOOM!

I got a million of 'em! Who knew it would ever pay off? :wink:

37

I think this is spoken rather than sung to a tune. The version I recall is:

*did you ever wonder what happens when you die?
first they wrap you in a bloody sheet,
then bury you about six feet,
everything is fine for about a week,
but then things will start to leak.

Worms crawl in and worms crawl out,
worms play pinochle on your snout.
Then one little guy who is not too shy,
crawl in your ear and out your eye.
And thats what happens when you die.*

I think there is some more but do not recall.

38

I think this is spoken rather than sung to a tune. The version I recall is:

*did you ever wonder what happens when you die?
first they wrap you in a bloody sheet,
then bury you about six feet,
everything is fine for about a week,
but then things will start to leak.

Worms crawl in and worms crawl out,
worms play pinochle on your snout.
Then one little guy who is not too shy,
crawls in your ear and out your eye.
And thats what happens when you die.*

I think there is some more but do not recall.

39

Slightly different words to the Comet song.

Comet! It makes your teeth turn green
Comet! It tastes like Listerine.
Comet, it makes you vomit
So buy some Comet, and vomit, today!

Then another version of “the worms crawl in”

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
Their stomachs turn a limey green
Your eyes pop out like whipping cream.
You put it on a slice of bread
And that’s what you eat when you are dead.

And one I haven’t seen here yet.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me
I’ll go eat some worms.
Fat ones, skinny ones, juicy juicy juicy ones
Ones that squirm and squirm.
Cut off their heads and suck out the juice
Throw the skins away.
You’ll be surprised how many you can eat
Three times a day, not including snacks,
'Cause they taste so gooooooood!

40

As a former Girl Guide and GG Leader, as well as a camp brat. I know a number of these songs.

I don’t know what tune the Ford song could be compared to, but I learned ‘Nobody’ as ‘No one’

Beadalin: That’s one of my favourite tunes. We used to sing it as a contest. The whole troop would split into 2 groups and we would go back and forth until one group couldn’t think of another nursery rhyme or we got sick of it. Whichever came first. It’s called ‘The Second Storey Window’ You also missed another line which puts how we play it into perspective. The whole song is as follows only you insert other nursery rhymes in as well.

Knighted Vorpal Sword There are a number of verses to that one. Involving various items such as mosquitoes, cornish hens, soda pop and such. My favourite verse is one that has actually been banned in recent years as too suggestive (or just cuz smoking is bad).

Chronos: Tom the Toad also becomes Sam the Snake and Fred the Frog who are swimming in the lake and under a log respectively.

I also learned one little gem from Guides, that is also now banned. It is as follows (to the tune of ‘Barges’ which any Girl Scout/Guide should know)

If you google ‘Camp songs’ or alternately ‘campfire songs’ ‘Scout songs’ ‘Guide songs’ or any variation thereof you come across a lot of sites dedicated to finding all these interesting songs. Some are just people who remember them fondly, others are meant as resources for Leaders of various organizations to add some spice to camp, but can be accessed by anyone.

Upon Preview I see Ellen Cherry chimed in. The verse I learned was