What is a campfire without a sing song. There are numerous song books available, some are very professional looking, some are mimeographed by a group, or a council. One of the most entertaining ideas that Scouts seem to enjoy is putting new words to old favourite songs. To my knowledge, the songs listed here are all Public Domain - if anyone knows otherwise, please contact me. This icon indicates that the song can be heard. To start this section, here are a few examples:
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes - Toot! Toot!
She'll be driving six white horses when she comes - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
We will kill the old red rooster when she comes - Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
We will all have chicken and dumplings when she comes - Yum! Yum! -Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
We will all have indigestion when she comes - Ouch! Ouch! - Yum! Yum! - Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
We will all go down to meet her when she comes - Hi Babe! - Ouch! Ouch! -Yum! Yum! - Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
She'll be wearing red pyjamas when she comes - [Whistle] - Hi Babe! - Ouch! Ouch! - Yum! Yum! - Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
We'll make her sleep with Grandpa when she comes
Scratch! Scratch! [Whistle] - Hi Babe! -Ouch! Ouch! -Yum! Yum! -Hack! Hack! - Whoa Back! - Toot! Toot!
My mother's an apple pie maker
My father, he fiddles for tin
My sister scrubs floors for a living
Oh boy how the money rolls in.
Rolls in
Rolls in
Oh boy how the money rolls in.
We're here for fun
Right from the start
Pray drop your dignity
Just laugh and sing with all your heart
And show your loyalty
All othe campfire's we'v enjoyed
Let this one be the best
Join in the songs we sing tonightv
Be happy with the rest.
Chorus: Glory, Glory, how peculiar
---- repeated three times.
As one sly snake slid up the slide
The other sly snake slid down.
As one ditch digger dug up the dirt
The other ditch digger dug down
As one fat fly flew through the flue
The other fat fly flew too.
As one rude rabbit ran up the road
The other rude rabbit ran down.
As one warm worm wiggled up the walk
The other warm worm wiggled down.
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been,
Charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife,
She's the joy of my life,
She's a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
Did she ask you to come in,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she ask you to come in,
Charming Billy?
Yes, she asked me to come in,
There's a dimple in her chin.
She's a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a cherry pie,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a cherry pie,
Charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie,
Quick as a cat can wink an eye,
She's a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
How old is she,
Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she,
Charming Billy?
Three times six and four times seven,
Twenty-eight and eleven,
She's a young thing
And cannot leave her mother.
Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife,
She's the idol of my life.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Where does she live, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where does she live, Charming Billy?
She lives on the hill,
Forty miles from the mill.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she bid you to come in, Charming Billy?
Yes, she bade me to come in,
And to kiss her on the chin.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Did she take your hat, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she take your hat, Charming Billy?
Yes, she took my hat,
And she threw it at the cat.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Did she set for you a chair, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she set for you a chair, Charming Billy?
Yes, she set for me a chair,
But the bottom wasn't there.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she bake a cherry pie, Charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie,
Quick's a cat can wink her eye.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a feather bed, Charming Billy?
She can make a feather bed,
That will rise above your head.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Can she milk a heifer calf, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she milk a heifer calf, Charming Billy?
Yes, she can, and not miss
The bucket more than half.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Is she often seen at church, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Is she often seen at church, Charming Billy?
Yes, she's often seen at church,
With a bonnet white as birch.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
And is she very tall, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
And is she very tall, Charming Billy?
She's as tall as any pine,
And as straight as a pumpkin vine.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Are her eyes very bright, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Are her eyes very bright, Charming Billy?
Yes, her eyes are very bright,
But, alas, they're minus sight.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Can she sing a pretty song, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she sing a pretty song, Charming Billy?
She can sing a pretty song,
But she often sings it wrong.
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
How old may she be, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old may she be, Charming Billy?
Three times six and four times seven,
Twenty eight and eleven,
She's a young thing, And cannot leave her mother.
Where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy boy?
Where have you been daring Billy?
I have just become a Scout/Cub
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin*.
What have you done Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
What have done daring Billy?
I have tried to make some stew
And it tasted just like glue!
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
Where have you been Billy Boy, Billy Boy
Where have you been daring Billy?
I have been to summer camp
And the blankets got all damp!
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
Can you mend a broken leg, Billy Boy, Billy Boy
Can you mend a broken leg daring Billy?
I can mend a broken leg
With a clothesline and a peg.
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
What can you do, Billy Boy, Billy Boy
What can you do daring Billy?
I can tie a knot or two
Make my promise good and true.
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
What can you sing Billy Boy, Billy Boy
What can you sing daring Billy?
I can sing, "Oh Canada"
And "God Save our Gracious Queen"
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
What can you do, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
What can you do daring Billy
I can make a somersault
And leap over my friend's back
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
What have you done, Billy Boy, Billy Boy
What have you done daring Billy?
I have passed my First Star Tests
And may get my Second yet!
It's a grand thing to be a Scout/Cub in Elgin.
[* Elgin District is in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada]
Junior Birdmen
Up in the air, Junior birdmen
Up in the air, upside down
Up in the air, Junior birdmen
Keep your noses to the ground.
When you hear the grand announcement
That the wings are made of tin
Then you know the Junior Birdmen
Have all sent their box-tops in.
You need five box tops
Four bottle bottoms
Three labels
Two wrappers
And one thin dime.
[This is an action song. Tips of thumbs and forefingers touch forming "goggles" placed on the eyes with palms of hands facing inwards.]
Oh, the old gray mare, She ain't what she used to be
Ain't what she used to be
Ain't what she used to be
Oh, the old gray mare, She ain't what she used to be
Many long years ago.
The Clarinet
I have lost the DOH of my clarinet.
I have lost the DOH of my clarinet.
If my ma' should hear of that
Hear of that
Hear of that
She will say
She will say
In step come along
In step come along
In step .. in step .. in step
[Repeat using the other notes, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA, TI]
Our sing songs are all very famous
The crowd hurries up for the spree
The C.N. ran special excursions
But it all sounds like Bunkum to me.
Chorus:
Bunkum, bunkum, it all sounds like bunkum to me.
The Commissioner came down to inspect us
And after he whispered to me
A better troop [pack, group] never existed
But it all sounds like Bunkum to me.
This summer our troop [pack, group] went a-camping
To a beautiful spot by the lake
No mosquitoes, and no Poison Ivy
But it all sounds like Bunkum to me.
Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you sling them over your shoulder
Like a continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
Do your ears hang high?
Do they reach up to the sky?
Do they droop when they are wet?
Do they stiffen when they're dry?
Can you semaphore your neighbour
with a minimum of labour?
Do your ears hang high?
Do your ears flip-flop?
Can you use them for a mop?
Are they stringy at the bottom?
Are they curly at the top?
Can you use them for a swatter?
Can you use them for a blotter?
Do your ears flip-flop?
Do your ears hang out?
Can you waggle them about?
Can you flip them up and down
as you fly around the town?
Can you shut them up for sure
when you hear an awful bore?
Do your ears hang out?
[Another Version]
Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them o'er your shoulder
like a Continental Soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
Does your tongue hang down?
Does it flop all around?
Can you tie it in a knot?
Can you tie it in a bow?
Can you throw it o'er your shoulder
like a Continental Soldier?
Does your tongue hang down?
Does your nose hang low?
Does it wiggle to and fro?
Can you tie it in a knot?
Can you tie it in a bow?
Can you throw it o'er your
shoulder like a Continental Soldier?
Does your nose hang low?
Do your eyes pop out?
Do they bounce all about?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them o'er your shoulder
like a Continental Soldier?
Do your eyes pop out?
Do your eyeballs droop
do they wobble in your soup
can you tie them in a loop
can you wind them on a hoop
do your eyeballs droop!
ALL NIGHT ALL DAY
Chorus:
All night, all day,
Angels watching over me my Lord
All night all day,
Angels watching over me.
**
Now I lay me down to sleep
Angels watching over me my Lord
Pray the Lord my soul to keep
Angels hatching over me.
* * Chorus
If I die before I wake
Angels watching over me my Lord
Pray the Lord my soul to take
Angels watching over me
* * Chorus
Keep me safely tnrough the night
Angel watching over me my Lord
Wake me with the morning light
Angels watching over me.
* * Chorus
I hate to breath the outside air,
It makes my tonsils sore,
I pass my Scout's pace round a chair,
Three Hundred times or more,
On mother's range I learned to cook
Oh, I'm a busy feller,
I learned my swimming by a book,
My Tracking in the Cellar,
For I'm a husky parlour Scout,
A regular guy, you bet,
But when it rains, I don't go out,
You see, I might get wet.
icon indicates that the song can be heard. To start this section, here are a few examples: