The rhythm and soul of camp

Camp songs. If you’ve ever heard them you know, they’re their own genre. They’re not quite kids’ songs and they’re not quite anthems. The versions of them you know are specific to the camp you attended and the counselors there at the time making them personal and specific to a time and place. It’s my belief that one of the reasons camps provide such a strong sense of belonging is, love them or hate them, the rituals and traditions of camp songs build a culture for each camp.

At Camp Redwood we began and ended the day with some songs. We also sang them on hikes or long treks to various field trips. There were camp-specific games that had songs accompany them. They would feature during our weekly Redwood Roundup show. Camp songs were threaded through the entire weeklong experience and whether you attended Camp Redwood for a week or the full nine every summer, those camp songs were a consistent thread you could count on. 

I have distinct memories as a little girl of singing them at both my parents (yes, I said at), especially Camp Redwood is the Best and Boom Chicka Boom. When I was in the throes of teenagehood, while the potential for embarrassment was high, I’d have no problem shedding all that angsty energy to join my fellow Leaders In Training (LITs) to co-lead the camp in Tidal Wave or The Bungalow Song. As a leader I felt such a sense of comradery and excitement guiding campers through I’m a Nut, The Joke Song, and Weenie Man. And as a Director singing The Princess Pat with all of camp was a great way to get out from behind my desk and re-connect with the campers.

Right around the time I started hiking with my son I decided it was time to introduce him to camp songs. They might be a little advanced for a toddler, but they’re fun and silly. At first he wasn’t too impressed but over the last year he’s grown to love several of them. He’ll ask for the “hot dog song” or “shark song” (officially, Weenie Man and Jaws because long before there was Baby Shark summer camps were signing Jaws!). In fact, about a month ago he asked me to turn Weenie Man into a lullaby. I changed up the tempo and a couple notes to really make a silly song about selling hot dogs out of a cart into a gentle aria speaking to the human needs of sustenance and ambition (ha!). Now I have them all at the ready anytime he needs a pick me up, a song is on deck. 

I’ve always been pretty good at remembering things, especially songs and rhymes. Over the years old camp friends have asked me to help them out by filling in missing words or reminding them of the tune. One friend asked me to type up all the camp songs as a gift when she was expecting – I didn’t do it at the time because of how “busy” I was then, something I now regret. Last fall I saw one of my camp soul sisters and I helped her fill in some missing lyrics. She mentioned she’d love to have them all typed up and I recommitted. “I’ll do it!” I told her. But every week I’d add it to my to-do list and in looking at it I’d feel dread over trying to sit and type them all out. I’ll do it next week, I’d tell myself.

Then, at the beginning of the year, one of the women I’d worked with most closely at camp shared on social media she was facing down a really scary and bleak diagnosis. I reached out to her. I told her about Recreating Camp and how she’d been on my mind as I’d been remembering so many details about our time at Camp Redwood. I told her I’d just re-created the schedule and was doing lanyards. I asked if I could send her a care package. I planned to include the schedule, some lanyard starts, a STAR camp bracelet (because we used something called STAR kids, more on that another time, and I found someone on Etsy making camp bracelets with stars), a mancala board (basically the official board game of our camp), and then she said something about camp songs. She mentioned she’d been trying to remember them, trying to share them with her kids, but it was hard to remember them all. After months of loving sharing them with my son I knew I had to type them all up for her. This was a gift she wanted to leave her kids and I could help her with it. It took two nights on non-stop song typing and then I had all the ones I remember typed up. Not too hard after all and I can’t believe I’d been dreading it. I printed a copy and included it with her care package. I also sent a link of it to the friend who’d asked for it all those years ago ahead of her first son’s arrival and the friend who’d mentioned it last fall when we were together. 

So, now I have it in a Google Doc. I’m not sure what the legality around sharing these songs on the internet is. These are songs that change and develop with each camp they land in – I’m not sure who truly owns them. I tried to look up the legal issues and couldn’t gain clarity so, instead of posting them online where there is potential to get myself in trouble or make someone mad, I’ll simply offer that if you email me at kat@kathrynwilhite.com with the subject line “Camp Songs” I will happily share the link with you too.

We all deserve some silly songs in our lives, don’t you think? 

Originally posted 4/5/23 on old website