Songs for Scouts to Sing

In the Evening by the Moonlight

In the evening, by the moonlight, you could hear those campers singing,
In the evening, by the moonlight, you could hear those echoes ringing.
How the campers would enjoy it! They would sit all night and listen;
As we sang in the evening, by the moonlight (Rawdy-do-dah!)

Second time through: Group responds to each "ing" word and "moonlight" with "rawdy-do-dah" (except for "evening" in the last line).

In the Good Old Summertime

In the good old summer time, in the good old summer time,
Strolling through the shady lanes with your baby mine;
You hold her hand and she holds yours, and that's a very good sign,
That she's your tootsey wootsey in the good old summertime.

I've Got Sixpence

I've got sixpence, jolly, jolly sixpence,
I've got sixpence, to last me all my life.
I've got twopence to spend, and twopence to lend,
And twopence to send home to my wife. Poor wife!

Chorus

No cares have I to grieve me, no pretty little girls to deceive me.
I'm as happy as a lark, believe me. As we go rolling, rolling home.
Rolling home, rolling home. [Repeat]
Rolling home to my home by the sea, boom, boom, boom.
Happy as the day when our leaders get their pay.
As we go rolling, rolling home.

I've got fourpence, jolly, jolly fourpence,
I've got fourpence, to last me all my life.
I've got twopence to spend, and twopence to lend,
And no pence to send home to my wife. Poor wife!

I've got twopence, jolly, jolly twopence,
I've got twopence, to last me all my life.
I've got twopence to spend, and no pence to lend,
And no pence to send home to my wife. Poor wife!

I've got no pence, jolly, jolly no pence,...

K-K-K-Katy

K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,
You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore.
When the m-m-moon shines over the cow-shed,
I'll be waiting at your k-k-k-kitchen door.

Land of the Silver Birch

Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver,
Where still the mighty moose wanders at will.

Chorus

Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more.
Boom de de boom boom, boom de de boom boom.
Boom de de boom boom, boom-m-m-m-m.

Down in the forest, deep in the lowlands,
My heart cries out for thee, hills of the north.

Swift as a silver fish, canoe of birch bark,
Thy mighty waterways carry me forth.

High on a rocky ledge I'll build my wigwam,
Close by the water's edge, silent and still.

Make New Friends

Make new friend but keep the old,
One is silver but the other gold.

A circle is round, it has no end.
That's how long I want to be your friend.

I have a hand, and you have another.
Put them together and we have each other.

You hold me and I'll hold you
And together we will see it through

My Dream Came True

[Tune: I've Been Working on the Railroad]

I was dreaming of a campfire, burning clear and bright.
Sparkling stars were all above me, upon a summer's night.
I was dreaming that my best friends all were dreaming too.
When I woke and looked around me, I saw my dream came true.

Moonlight Bay

We were sailing along on moonlight bay.
We could hear the voices singing, they seemed to say,
"You have stolen my heart. Now don't go 'way."
As we sang love's old sweet song on moonlight bay.

Oh! Susanna

I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee,
I'm going to Louisiana, my true love for to see.
It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry
The sun so hot I froze to death, Susanna, don't you cry.

Chorus

Oh! Susanna, Oh don't you cry for me,
For I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee.

I had a dream the other night, when everything was still;
I thought I saw Susanna dear, a coming down the hill.
A buckwheat cake was in her mouth, a tear was in her eye,
Says I, I'm coming from the south, Susanna, don't you cry.

I soon will be in New Orleans, and then I'll look around,
And when I find Susanna, I'll fall upon the ground.
But if I do not find her, then I will surely die,
And when I'm dead and buried, Oh, Susanna, don't you cry.

Oh You Can't Get to Heaven

Oh the Deacon went down, to the cellar to pray.
But he fell asleep, and stayed all day.
[Repeat.]
I Ain't gonna grieve my Lord no more.

Chorus

I Ain't gonna grieve my Lord no more.
I Ain't gonna grieve my Lord no more.
I Ain't gonna grieve my Lord no more.

Oh you can't get to heaven, in a rocking chair.
'Cause the Lord don't allow, no lazybones there.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven, in a [name of person]'s car.
'Cause the gosh darn thing, won't go that far.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven, in a [name of person]'s boat.
'Cause the gosh darn thing, won't even float.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven, on water skis.
'Cause the Lord don't allow, no hairy knees.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven, on roller skates.
'Cause you'll roll right by those pearly gates.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven in a limousine,
'Cause the Lord don't sell no gasoline.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven on a motor bike,
'Cause you'll get halfway, then you'll have to hike.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven in a supersonic jet,
'Cause the Lord ain't got no runways yet.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven with powder and paint,
'Cause it makes you look like what you ain't.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven in a strapless gown,
'Cause the gosh darn thing might fall right down.
etc.

Oh you can't get to heaven in [name of person]'s pants,
'Cause [name of person]'s pants are full of ants.
etc.

Oh you can't chew terbaccy on the golden shore,
'Cause the Lord don't have no cuspidor.
etc.

Oh I want to go to heaven, and I want to do it right,
So I'll go up to heaven all dressed in white.
etc.

Oh one fine day, and it won't be long,
You'll look for me, and I'll be gone.
etc.

Oh if you get to heaven, before I do.
Just bore a hole, and pull me through.
etc.

Well if I get to heaven, before you do.
I'll plug that hole, with shavings and glue.
etc.

That's all there is, there ain't no more.
Saint Peter said, as he closed the door.
etc.

Oh there's one more thing I forgot to tell,
If you don't go to heaven, you'll go to hell.
etc.

Old Black Joe

Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay,
Gone are my friends, from the cotton field away
Gone from the earth, to a better land I know,
I hear their gentle voices calling, "Old Black Joe."

Chorus

I'm coming, I'm coming, for my head is bending low;
I hear those gentle voices calling, "Old Black Joe."

Why do I weep when my heart should feel no pain,
Why do I sigh that my friends come not again,
Grieving for forms now departed long ago?
I hear their gentle voices calling, "Old Black Joe."

Where are the hearts once so happy and so free,
The children so dear that I held upon my knee?
Gone to the shore where my soul has long'd to go.
I hear their gentle voices calling, "Old Black Joe."

Old Folks at Home

Way down upon the Swanee River, far, far away,
That's where my heart is turning ever, there's where the old folks stay.
All up and down the whole creation, sadly I roam,
Still longing for the old plantation, and for the old folks at home.

Chorus

All the world is sad and weary, every where I roam;
Oh people, how my heart grows weary, far from the old folks at home.

All 'round the little farm I wandered, when I was young,
There many happy days I squandered, many the song I sung.
When I was playing with my brother, happy was I,
Oh, take me to my kind old mother, there let me live and die.

One little hut among the bushes, one that I love
Still sadly to my memory rushes, no matter where I rove.
When will I see the bees a-humming all 'round the comb?
When will I hear the banjo strumming, down in my good old home?

On Top of Old Smoky

On top of old Smoky, all covered with snow,
I lost my true lover from courting too slow.

Now, courting is pleasure and parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover is worse than a thief.

For a thief will just rob you and take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover will lead you to the grave.

And the grave will decay you and turn you to dust;
Not one boy in a hundred a poor girl can trust.

They'll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies,
Than cross ties on a railroad or stars in the skies.

So, come all you young maidens and listen to me,
Never place your affection on a green willow tree.

For the leaves they will whither, and the roots they will die,
You'll all be forsaken and never know why.

Our Paddles Keen and Bright

Our paddles keen and bright, flashing like silver,
Swift as the wild goose flies, dip, dip, and swing.

Dip, dip, and swing them back, flashing like silver,
Swift as the wild goose flies, dip, dip, and swing.

Sing two or three times through, with voices becoming louder and then softer---as though canoes were first approaching and then moving away. [Also may be sung as a round.]

Pack Up Your Troubles

Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile, smile, smile;
While you've a match or two to light your fire,
Smile Scouts that's the style.
What's the use of worrying, it never was worth while; so--
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, and smile, smile, smile!

Patsy Atsy Ori Ay

18 hundred and 51, work on the railroad was begun,
Work on the railroad was begun, workin' on the railroad.

Chorus

Patsy atsy ori ay, [repeat twice]
Workin' on the railroad.

1800 & 52, looking around for something to do, ....
1800 & 53, railroad company hired me, ....
1800 & 54, back was getting mighty sore, ....
1800 & 55, found myself more dead than alive, ....
1800 & 56, dropped a couple of dynamite sticks, ....
1800 & 57, found myself on the way to heaven, ....
1800 & 58, found myself at the Pearly Gate, ....
1800 & 59, found myself on a cloud sublime, ....
1800 & fifty-ten, started in all over again, ....

Polly Wolly Doodle

Oh, I went down South for to see my Sal,
Sing Polly-Wolly-Doodle all day,
My Sally am a spunky gal,
Sing Polly-Wolly-Doodle all day.

Chorus

Fare thee well, fare thee well, fare thee well my fairy fay,
For I'm going to Louisiana, for to see my Susyanna,
Sing Polly-Wolly-Doodle all day.

Oh, my gal, Sal, she's a maiden fair,...
With laughing eyes and curly hair,...

Oh, a grasshopper sat on a railroad track,...
A picking his teeth with a carpet tack,...

Oh, I went to bed but it weren't no use,...
My feet stuck out for a chicken roost,...

Behind the barn, down on my knees,...
I thought I heard that chicken sneeze,...

He sneezed so hard with the whooping cough,...
He sneezed his head and tail right off,...

Red River Valley

From this valley they say you are going,
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For they say you are taking the sunshine
Which has brightened our pathways a while.

Chorus

Come and sit by my side if you love me;
Do not hasten to bid me adieu,
But remember the Red River Valley,
And the girl that has loved you so true.

I've been thinking a long time, my darling,
Of the sweet words you never would say,
Now, alas, must my fond hopes all vanish?
For they say you are going away.

Won't you think of the valley you're leaving,
Oh, how lonely and sad it will be,
Just think of the fond heart you're breaking,
And the grief you are causing to me.

From this valley they say you are going,
When you go, may your darling go too?
Would you leave her behind unprotected,
When she loves no one other than you.

As you go to your home by the ocean,
May you never forget those sweet hours,
That we spent in the Red River Valley,
And the love we exchanged 'mid the flowers.

I have promised you, darling, that never
Will a word from my lips cause you pain,
And my life, it will be yours forever,
If you only will love me again.

They will bury me where you have wandered,
Near the hills where the daffodils grow,
When you're gone from the Red River valley,
For I can't live without you I know.

Shine On, Harvest Moon, Medley

Shine on, shine on harvest moon, up in the sky;
I ain't had no lovin since January, February, June or July.
Snow time ain't no time to sit around and croon.
So, shine on, shine on harvest moon for me and my gal.

The bells are ringing, for me and my gal;
The birds are singing for me and my gal.
Everybody's been knowing, to a wedding they're going,
And for weeks they've been sewing, every Sue and Sal.
They're congregating for me and my gal.
The parson's waiting for me and my gal.
And someday we're going to build a little home for two,
For three or four or more
In loveland for me and my gal.

Shortnin' Bread

Three little children lyin' in bed,
Two of them sick and the other most dead.
Called for the doctor, the doctor said,
"Feed them children some shortnin' bread.

Chorus

Mammy's little baby loves shortnin', shortnin',
Mammy's little baby loves shortnin' bread. [Repeat both lines.]

When them children lying in the bed
Heard that talk about shortnin' bread,
Thay all got up and began to shout,
Laughin' and a-singin' and a-dancin' about.

Put on the skillet, put on the lid,
Mammy's gonna make a little shortnin' bread.
Then after that, there's a treat for you,
Mammy's gonna make a little coffee too.

Side By Side

Oh we ain't got a barrel of money, maybe we're ragged and funny,
But we'll travel along, singing a song, side by side.
Don't know what's coming tomorrow, maybe it's trouble and sorrow,
But we'll travel the road, sharing our load, side by side.
Through all kinds of weather, what if the sky should fall,
Just as long as we're together, it doesn't matter at all.
When they've all had their troubles and parted,
We'll be the same as we started,
Just trav'ling along, singing our song, side by side.

Skip to My Lou

Lost my partner what'll I do? [Repeat twice more.]
Skip to my Lou, my darling.

Chorus

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou. [Repeat twice more.]
Skip to my Lou, my darling.

I'll get another, a nicer one too---
If I lose that one, I'll take two---
Flies in the sugar bowl, shoo, shoo, shoo---
Cat's in the buttermilk, licking it too---
Kitten in the haymow, mew, mew, mew---
Bears in the rose bush, boo, boo, boo---
Mule's in the cellar, kicking up through---
Dad's old hat got torn in two---
Little red wagon, painted blue---
Had a cart and pony too---
Going to get a red-bird, a pretty one too---
If I can't get a red-bird, a blue-bird'll do---
Needle in the haystack, Number 32
Hurry up, slow poke, do, Oh, do---

Optional dance actions: Players form a circle and chose partners. Dance starts with one couple moving to the center and selecting one other person. The three hold hands and skip about the circle. On the word, "skip," the couple stops and joins hands to form an arch for the third person to step under.

The couple then rejoins the circle, the person left in the center picks another couple to skip about. Again, on the word, "skip," the original caller and one member of the couple called in make the arch and rejoin the circle, leaving the other member of the couple just called in the center. The person left in the center chooses a third couple, and so on, until the song ends.

Sweet Betsy From Pike

Did you ever hear tell of sweet Betsy from Pike,
Who crossed the wide prairie with old Uncle Ike,
With two yoke of cattle and one spotted hog,
A tall Shanghai rooster and a large yellow dog.

Chorus

Singin' toora-li, loora-li, loora-li, ay [Repeat.]

One evening quite early they camped on the Platte,
'Twas near by the road on a green shady flat,
Where Betsy sore-footed lay down to repose,
There was no sounder sleeper than that Pike County rose.

They soon reached the desert, where Betsy gave out,
And down in the sand she lay rolling about;
But she got up again with a great deal of pain,
And declared she'd go back to Pike County again.

The Shanghai ran off and their cattle all died,
That morning the last piece of bacon was fried;
Poor Ike was discouraged and Betsy got mad,
The dog drooped his tail and looked wondrously sad.

They finally stopped on a very high hill,
And with wonder looked down upon old Placerville;
Ike sighed when he said as he looked all around
"Well, Betsy, my sweet, we might as well go down.

Old Ike and sweet Betsy attended a dance;
Ike wore a pair of his Pike County pants;
Sweet Betsy was covered with ribbons and rings;
Says Ike, "You're an angel, but where are your wings?"

A miner asked, "Betsy, will you dance with me?"
"I will that, old hoss, if you don't make too free;
"But don't dance me hard, do you want to know why?
Dog on, but I'm chock full of strong alkali."

Tell Me Why

Tell me why the stars do shine,
Tell me why the ivy twines,
Tell me why the ocean's blue,
And I will tell you just why I love you.

Because God made the stars to shine,
Because God made the ivy twine,
Because God made the ocean blue,
Because God made you, that's why I love you.

I really think that God above,
Created you for me to love,
He picked you out from all the rest,
Because He knew, dear, that I'd love you best.

The Ash Grove

The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking
The harp thro' it playing has language for me
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking
A host of kind faces is gazing on me
The friends of my childhood again are before me
Each step wakes a mem'ry as freely I roam
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home

Down yonder green valley where streamlets meander
When twilight is fading, I pensively rove.
Or at the bright moontide in solitude wander
Amid the dark shades of the lonely ash grove.
'Tis there where the blackbird is cheerfully singing
Each warbler enchants with his notes from a tree.
Ah then little think I of sorrow or sadness
The ash grove entrancing spells beauty for me.

My laughter is over, my step loses lightness
Old countryside measures steal soft on my ears
I only remember the past and its brightness
The dear ones I mourn for again gather here
From out of the shadows their loving looks greet me
And wistfully searching the leafy green dome
I find other faces fond bending to greet me
The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home

The Band Played On

Casey would waltz with the strawberry blond, and the band played on.
He'd glide 'cross the floor with the girl he adored, and band played on.
His brain was so loaded it nearly exploded;
The poor girl would shake with alarm.
He married the girl with the strawberry curl, and the band played on.

The Blue-Tail Fly

When I was young I used to wait
On master and give him his plate,
And pass the bottle when he got dry
And brush away the blue-tail fly.

Chorus

Jimmy crack corn and I don't care, [Repeat twice more.]
My master's gone away.

And when he'd ride in the afternoon,
I'd follow after with a hickory broom;
The pony being rather shy
When bitten by the blue-tail fly.

One day he rode around the farm;
The flies so numerous they did swarm.
One chanced to bite him on the thigh,---
The devil take the blue-tail fly.

The pony ran, he jumped, he pitched,
He threw my master in the ditch,
He died, and the jury wondered why---
The verdict was the blue-tail fly.

They laid him 'neath a 'simmon tree;
His epitaph for all to see:
"Beneath this stone I'm forced to lie,
A victim of the blue-tail fly."

The Cowboy's Lament (The Street's of Laredo)

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
As I walked out in Laredo one day,
I spied a young cowboy all wrapped in white linen,
All wrapped in white linen and cold as the clay.

"I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy."
These words he did say as I boldly step by,
"Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story:
I was shot in the chest and I know I must die.

"It was once in the saddle I used to go dashing,
It was once in the saddle I use to go gay;
First to the dram-house and then to the card-house;
Got shot in the chest; I am dying today.

"Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin;
Get six pretty maidens to carry my pall;
Put bunches of roses all over my coffin,
Roses to deaden the clods as they fall.

"Oh beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly,
Play the death march as you carry me along;
Take me to the green valley and lay the sod o'er me,
For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong.

"Go fetch me a cup, a cup of cold water,
To cool my parched lips," the cowboy then said;
Before I returned, the spirit has left him
And gone to his Maker--the cowboy was dead.

We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
And bitterly wept as we bore him along;
For we all loved our comrade, so brave, young, and handsome,
We all loved our comrade although he done wrong.

Contents

Index