EIC: Hokey Songs

Hokey Song Lyrics O-rama!

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send your favorite hokey EIC camp songs to cin@alum.mit.edu and I'll include 'em with a Thanks Note for you.
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The singing frog has kids and me howling the tune (mp3); the piano player indicates there is a midi file with a piano playing the tune. I am inputting these songs into a music program myself; please send me email if you have corrections for the timing or notes of any of the songs! I remember some of the songs as syncopated, but I can't quite figure out how to write the notation so it comes out the way I remember. Also, if they are too low - I can transpose them with a few keystrokes - just let me know. Still to come - the day when I figure out how to get the sheet music into some sort of web format.

Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge, I have not included any song below that would fall under the domain of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP). Please let me know if you disagree!

There are only a few songs on this page. However, I can point you to some bigger song lyric collections:
Kidslist, songs compiled by Neil B. and Lucia H. S.

U.S. Scouting Service Project
The South African Scouting Collection
The MacScouter Resources Online
The Fabulous Songbook by Kristin Hall
Girl Scouts Greatest Hits with Melinda Caroll
Camp Hope/Camp Lake of the Woods, Missouri

The Index

Banks of the Hanky-Panky

Barges

Boatman

The Circle Game

Eugene's Ark Song

Every Morning
Fried Ham
Frosty's Time

Gray Squirrel
I Saw a Bear
I'm a Little Piece of Tin

I'm an Acorn

I'm an Atomic Bomb
In the Swimming Pool

John the Boatman
Lake Serene

Little Birds
Little Rabbit

Little Rabbit Foo-Foo
The Noble Duke of York

On Top of Spaghetti
One Bottle of Pop
One Last Song

Peppiest Camp

Red Balloon

The Stars at Night
Star's Song

Silver Moon

Three Chartreuse Buzzards

Oh We Come to Eagle Isle

Welcome to Eagle Isle
White Wings

Wings of a Buzzard

Wishy Washy Washerwoman

You're the camp for me


	Down by the banks of the Hanky-Panky, where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky,

With an eeps, ops, opes, ups, leaps off a lily and a ker-plop. [Repeat as 4-part round]

[chorus] Barges, I would like to go with you, I would like to sail the ocean blue,
Barges, have you treasures in your hold, Do you fight with pirates, brave and bold?
Out of my window looking in the night, I can see the barge's flickering light
Quietly flows the river to the sea, As the barges do go silently
[chorus]
Out of my window looking in the night, I can see the barge's flickering light
Starboard shines green and port is glowing red, I can see the barges just ahead
[chorus]
How my heart yerns to sail away with you, As you sail across the ocean blue
But I must stay here by my window dear, As the barges sail away from here
[chorus]

Boatman dance and boatman sing and boatman he do everything
When the boatman come on the shore, he spends all his money and he works for more
[chorus] Hi, ho, the boatman go, up and down the river on the oh-hi-oh
Hi, ho, the boatman go, up and down the river on the oh-hi-oh
Did ya ever see where the boatman lives, in a house in a hollow with a roof like a sieve
Boatman said if I had one wish, if it got any wetter I would be a fish
[chorus]

[chorus] And the seasons they go 'round and 'round, And the painted ponies go up and down,
              We are captive on a carousel of time, We can't return, we can only look,
              Behind from where we came, And go 'round and 'round and 'round,
              In The Circle Game
Yesterday a child came out to wander, Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder, And tearful at the falling of a star
[chorus]
Then the child moved ten times 'round the seasons, Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like "when you're older" must appease him, And promises of "someday" make his dreams
[chorus]
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now, Cartwheels turned to car wheels through the town
And they tell him "Take your time, it won't be long now", Before you drag your feet to slow the circle down
[chorus]
Years go by and now the boy is twenty, Dreams have lost their granduer of coming true
But there'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty, Before the last revolving year is through.
[chorus]

Eugene's Ark Song [read the -- as "Beep Beep" (the Ark's horn)]

If you take -- the Ark ---, your trip could last an hour
Leave the dock -- behind ---, smell that diesel power
Well, the LBH is fast and the Gastron is faster, and the Whaler just got a new engine
But if you take -- the Ark ---, you'll never have to be in a hurry again

If you take -- the Ark ---, your trip could last all session
Leave the dock -- behind ---, return at your discretion
Well, you might get there much sooner on the Lillian Babbitt Hyde,
But would you know what you missed along the way?
If you take -- the Ark ---, you'll never have to be in a hurry again
Well, the Ark is quite large, but not as big as the barge, and the LB can hold 26
If you went skiing around, behind the Ark you would drown, but it gives you your boat-driving fix

[repeat 1st verse]
(that's right!) You'll never have to be in a hurry again
(once more!) You'll never have to be in a hurry again!

Every morning at half past eight, I go ah-ah-ah-ah-ah to Mimi
And every morning at half past eight, she goes ah-ah-ah-ah-ah to me
No need to knock, no need to ring, as I wipe my eyes
I just open the window, stick out my head, and go ah-ah-ah-ah-ah to Mimi


	Fried ham, fried ham, cheese and baloney,

After the macaroni we'll have onions, pickles, and pretzels,
Then we'll have some more fried ham, fried ham, fried ham.
___th verse, same as the first, ____ accent, all the worse: [Repeat]
Accents: Opera, Baby, Girl Scout (like Promise), Priest (sing monotone, last syllable of each line 2 notes down), Underwater (use index finger to blurble lips), Alien (index fingers are antennae, beep a lot), ...

Frosty's Time
Some people frown upon me for the smile that I wear, I always break their silence with the laughter that I share
There are a few who understand and some who never try, Most just go on wondering, never stop to wonder why
[chorus] And time ran away from me, and time I had to follow
What happened to the day when I could look around and say to time, I know we’re going home
Some people think that cities are the places they should be, Others live on mountain tops or castles by the sea
But if you ever have a wish, you’ll always have a home, Except the lonely wanderer whose wish it is to roam
[chorus]
All the world is lost to me, and all the world is found, All the world is echoing my lonely wandering sound
I hear it all together now, I wish that I had known, That if we sing the same song we can never be alone


	Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.

Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.
Wrinkle up your funny nose, put a nut between your toes
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel, swish your bushy tail.


	The other day [echo], I saw a bear [echo]

A great big bear [echo] A-way up there [echo]
[Repeat w/out echo]
He looked at me, I looked at him, He sized up me, I sized up him
He said to me, Why don't you run, I see you ain't, got any gun
And so I ran, away from there, but right behind, me came that bear
In front of me, I saw a tree, a great big tree, oh lordy me
The nearest branch, was ten feet up, I had to jump, and trust my luck
And so I jumped, into the air, but i missed that branch, a-way up there
Now don't you fret, and don't you frown, cause I caught that branch, on the way back down
That's all there is, there ain't no more, unless I meet, that bear once more

I'm a little piece of tin, nobody knows where I have been
Got four wheels and a running board, I'm a Ford, oh, I'm a Ford
Honk honk rattle rattle rattle crash beep beep
Honk honk rattle rattle rattle crash beep beep
Honk honk rattle rattle rattle crash beep beep, honk honk!
[tune is the same as "I'm an acorn"]


	I'm an acorn, small and round, lying on the cold cold ground

Everybody steps on me, that is why I'm cracked you see
I'm a nut [knock knock] I'm a nut [knock knock] I'm a nut [knock knock] I'm a nut
OR
Call myself on the telephone, just to hear my golden tone
Ask myself out on a date, pick me up at a quarter to eight
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut
OR
Oh, wasn't it a bit of luck that I was born a baby duck
With yellow socks and yellow shoes, that I may go wherever I choose
Quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack, quack quack quack quack quack quack

I don't want to march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery
I don't want to fly over Germany, I'm an atomic bomb. (stomp)
I'm an atomic bomb (stomp) I'm an atomic bomb (stomp)
[Repeat]
++ Note this song is now banned in the mess hall by the efforts of peaceful protesters++


	Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool

When days are hot, when days are cold, in the swimming pool
Breaststroke, sidestroke, fancy diving too
Don't you wish that you could have nothing else to do but [Repeat]


	Call John the boatman, call him again, for loud roars the river and fast falls the rain

John is asleep, he sleeps very sound, his oars are at rest, and his boat lies aground
On roars the river, so rapid and deep, that the louder that you call John the sounder he will sleep. [round]


	Lake Serene, with trees embroidered green,

Enraptured by a sylvan scene, These visions are our E I dreams

Through the years, when we return to thee
These same familiar scenes we'll see, Glorious will our memories be.

Precious place, within our hearts we'll hold
Friendships and the times untold, We'll cherish as the years unfold.

MELODY

HARMONY

Way up in the sky, the little birds fly, while down in their nest, the little birds rest,
With a wing on the left, and a wing on the right, the little birds sleep, all through the night.
SHHHH! THE BIRDIES ARE SLEEPING!
The bright sun comes up, the dew falls away, Good Morning, Good Morning, the little birds say

Little cabin in the woods, little man by the window stood
Saw a rabbit hopping by, knocking at my door.
"Help me, help me sir!" he said, " 'fore the hunter shoots me dead!"
Come little rabbit come inside, safely you'll abide.

Little Rabbit Foo-Foo, hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice, and bop 'em on the head.
A-long came the good fairy, and she said:
Little rabbit foo-foo, I don't want to see you, scooping up the field mice, and bop 'em on the head.
I'll give you three more chances, and then I'm gonna turn you into a goon!
[Repeat, till no more chances; then "so I'm turning you into a goon! POOF!"]
The moral of the story is: Hare today, and Goon tomorrow.

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 right out the door.
Rolled into the garden and under a bush, and then my poor meatball was nothing but mush.

One bottle of pop, two bottle of pop, three bottle of pop, four bottle of pop
Five bottle of pop, six bottle of pop, seven bottle of pop POP.
Don't throw your trash in my backyard, my backyard, my backyard
Don't throw your trash in my backyard, my backyard's full.
Fish and chips and vinegar, vinegar, vinegar
Fish and chips and vinegar, vinegar and pop.

There's one last song I want to sing before I leave you
One last song to show how much we have shared
A smile a tear have brought us closer together
Each of us leaves a part of our hearts here

Time passes by you know it goes too quickly
Seems like we just arrived and it's time to go
So take all that we have shared together
Kindle it gently in your heart till it grows

The roads we take may not always be easy
They may take time, patience and care
You know you'll always have a friend you can turn to
If that road gets too tough to bear
[repeat 1st verse]

The noble duke of york, he had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill, and marched them down again
And when you're up, you're up, and when you're down, you're down
And when you're only halfway up you're neither up nor down
[stand and sit when appropriate]

The peppiest camp I ever did see, It never goes a- pokin'
If I were to tell you the pep it's got, You'd think I was a - jokin'
It's not the pep in the pepper pot, Or the pop in the popcorn popper
It's not the pep in the mustard jar, Or the pop in the vinegar stopper

It's good old-fashioned P-E-P, The kind you cannot down, Eagle Island, The peppiest camp around
Take a little bit of ginger, Take a little bit of grit, Take a little bit of spirit, Just to make a hit Da da da
Take a little bit of sunshine, Take a little bit of pep, Put them all together, and you've got Eagle Island's rep
Mmm, mmm ginger, Mmm, mmm grit, Mmm, mmm spirit, Just to make a hit Da da da
Mmm, mmm sunshine , Mmm, mmm pep , Put them all together and you've got Eagle Island's rep-u-ta-tion, mmmmmm

[chorus] Laughs are many and tears are few, Life’s exciting and always new
In a world of girls and boys, In a world of simple joys
Give me a red balloon on a long black string, I can whistle and I can sing
With my red balloon on a long black string, I’d be richer than any king
[chorus]
Give me a warm spring day and an apple tree, There is nothing that I can’t see
When I look up from my apple tree, Look up there and you’ll see me
[chorus]
Give me a paper kite on a windy day, I think I’ll fly away
With my paper kite on a windy day, Yes, I think I’ll fly away
[chorus]
Give me a jar of bubbles and a real good friend, Oh, I hope this day won't end,
With my jar of bubbles and a real good friend, Oh, I pray this day won't end
[chorus]


	The Silver Moon is shining upon the silent meadow

I walk down the meadow with no one near me

A nightingale is singing beyond the forest shadow
I sigh within the shadow where none can hear me

How lovely is the moonlight between the shadows breaking
My heart would ease its aching if thou wert near me

MELODY

HARMONY

The stars at night go twink-a-link-a-link, a-way up in the sky
The moon at night goes blink-a-link-a-link, it shines right in my eye
The skunk at night goes stink-a-link-a-link, I wish that I would die
Oh twink-a-link-a-link Oh blink-a-link-a-link Oh stink-alink-a-link Oh my.

Star's Song
Gentle breezes blow, trees reach for the stars
Calling back to me, peace is where you are
You are the moment that I seek, you are my strength when I am weak
You are my one true home, and if life takes me far away
I know my heart will always stay, here in my island home

Three chartreuse buzzards, Three chartreuse buzzards,
Three chartreuse buzzards sitting on a fence.
Oh look! One has flown a-way. What a shame.
Two chartreuse buzzards, two chartreuse buzzards,
Two chartreuse buzzards sitting on a fence.
Oh look! One has re-turned. Let us re-joice.
[Repeat]

If I had the wings of a buzzerd, buzzerd, up to the woods I would fly,
There to remain as a buzzerd, buzzerd, until the day that I die.
Oooh la la ooh la la ooh la ooh la, oooh la la ooh la la La (unh)
Oooh la la ooh la la ooh la ooh la, oooh la la ooh la la La
[Repeat, replacing buzzerd with squito, r-plane, eagle, butt-fly]
[all misspellings on purpose to achieve proper pronounciation]

Way down in the valley where nobody goes, there's a wishy washy washerwoman washing her clothes
She goes, "ooh, ahh." She goes, "ooh, ahh." And that's how the washerwoman washes her clothes.
Waddali a cha, a coochi coochi coo, waddali a cha, a coochi coochi coo.
And that's how the washerwoman washes her clothes. Yeeeeeaah!

Oh we come to Eagle Island, we come to have some fun
And we learn to swim and sail and paddle in the sun.
To the nature craft we go and the handicrafts we sew
We have come to Eagle Island to have fun! (YEE HAW!)
[chorus] Oh Eagle Isle, Oh Eagle Isle,
             We have come to Eagle Island to have fun,
             see our friends both old and newwwwwwwww
             We have come to Eagle Island to have FUN!
Oh we listen for the bell and all the campers YELL!
We will scramble into line, and RUSH in there to dine
For the food in there is great, the best in all the state
We come to Eagle Island to have fun! (YEE HAW!)
[chorus]
[slowly..] When we leave for home we're sad, BUT! returning we'll be glad!
We'll be back to see our friends, when the school semester ends
For Eagle Island is the BEST! in in the North, South, East...and WEST!
We have come to Eagle Island to have FUN! (YEE HAW!)
[chorus]


	We welcome you to Eagle Isle, we're mighty glad you're here

We'll send the air reverberating with a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in, we'll sing you out, to you we'll raise a mighty shout
Hail, hail, the gang's all here, and welcome to Eagle Isle


	White Wings, they never grow weary

They carry me cheerily over the sea
Night falls, I long for my dearie, I spread out my white wings, and sail home to thee

White sails, they lift me from sorrow, To that glad tomorrow when I'll be with you
My heart, it longs for those white sails, And sail without chart, dear, to home and to you
[written by Banks Winter in 1912: see this web page for the original? words]

MELODY

HARMONY

We're a camp that really can't be beat, For united we will never meet defeat
We've got pep and personality, Eagle Island you're the camp for me

Hear our voices raised in harmony, Eagle Island SPIRIT lives eternally
Heads held high we proudly march along, Join us as we sing this rousing song

Our shouts will rise up to the sky, As our banner's raised on high
Eagle Isle will reign forever more, As the camp we all adore

Cherished thoughts we always hold so dear, Memories of camp remain throughout the year
Always striving to pledge loyalty, Eagle Island, you're the camp for me
[slower] Eagle Island, you're the camp for me

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send your favorite hokey EIC camp songs to cin@alum.mit.edu and I'll include 'em with a Thanks Note for you.