Scouting Resources
Songbook – 09
www.scoutingresources.org.uk
Oh! Susanna ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Old Black Joe ................................................................................................................................... 2
Patsy Atsy Ori Ay............................................................................................................................. 2
Old Folks at Home ............................................................................................................................ 3
Shine On, Harvest Moon, Medley.................................................................................................... 3
Skip to My Lou................................................................................................................................. 3
Sweet Betsy From Pike .................................................................................................................... 4
The Cowboy’s Lame nt (The Street’s of Laredo) ............................................................................. 4
The Gypsy Rover.............................................................................................................................. 5
America The Beautiful ..................................................................................................................... 5
Yankee Doodle ................................................................................................................................. 6
Alive, Awake, Alert.......................................................................................................................... 6
Announcements, Announcements .................................................................................................... 6
The Ants Go Marching ..................................................................................................................... 6
An Austrian ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Bear Song ......................................................................................................................................... 7
We’ll All Be Singing ........................................................................................................................ 8
Big Rock Candy Mountain (Scouting) ............................................................................................. 8
Bingo ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Birdie Song....................................................................................................................................... 9
Birds In The Wilderness ................................................................................................................... 9
Boa Constrictor................................................................................................................................. 9
MY BONNIE (Variations) ............................................................................................................. 10
Boom Chicka Boom ....................................................................................................................... 10
Scouting Resources
http://www.scoutingresources.org.uk/
Compiled by Darren Dowling
[email protected]
1
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.
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.”
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, . . . .
2
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 One little hut among the bushes, one that I love
young, Still sadly to my memory rushes, no matter where
There many happy days I squandered, many the I rove.
song I sung.
When will I see the bees a-humming all ‘round
When I was playing with my brother, happy was I, the comb?
Oh, take me to my kind old mother, there let me When will I hear the banjo strumming, down in
live and die. my good old home?
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.
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.
2. I’ll get another, a nicer one too- 9. Dad’s old hat got torn in two-
3. If I lose that one, I’ll take two- 10.Little red wagon, painted blue-
4. Flies in the sugar bowl, shoo, shoo, shoo- 11.Had a cart and pony too-
5. Cat’s in the buttermilk, licking it too- 12.Going to get a red-bird, a pretty one too-
6. Kitten in the haymow, mew, mew, mew- 13.If I can’t get a red-bird, a blue-bird’ll do-
7. Bears in the rose bush, boo, boo, boo- 14.Needle in the haystack, Number 32
8. Mule’s in the cellar, kicking up through- 15.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.
3
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, They finally stopped on a very high hill,
‘Twas near by the road on a green shady flat, And with wonder looked down upon old
Where Betsy sore-footed lay down to repose, Placerville;
There was no sounder sleeper than that Pike Ike sighed when he said as he looked all around
County rose. “Well, Betsy, my sweet, we might as well go
down.
They soon reached the desert, where Betsy gave
out, Old Ike and sweet Betsy attended a dance;
And down in the sand she lay rolling about; Ike wore a pair of his Pike County pants;
But she got up again with a great deal of pain, Sweet Betsy was covered with ribbons and rings;
And declared she’d go back to Pike County Says Ike, “You’re an angel, but where are your
again. wings?”
The Shanghai ran off and their cattle all died, A miner asked, “Betsy, will you dance with me?”
That morning the last piece of bacon was fried; “I will that, old hoss, if you don’t make too free;
Poor Ike was discouraged and Betsy got mad, “But don’t dance me hard, do you want to know
The dog drooped his tail and looked wondrously why?
sad. Dog on, but I’m chock full of strong alkali.”
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.
4
The Gypsy Rover
The Gypsy rover went over the hill,
Down to the valley so shady;
He whistled and he sang till the green woods rang,
For he won the heart of a lady.
Chorus
Ha di do, ah dido da day, ah di do, ah di day-ee;
He whistled and he sang till the green woods rang,
For he won the heart of a lady.
She left her father’s castle gate,
She left her own true lover;
She left her servants and her estate,
To follow the Gypsy rover.
Her father saddled his fastest steed,
He searched the valley all over;
He sought his daughter at great speed,
And the whistling Gypsy rover.
He came at last to a mansion fine,
Down by the river Claydee;
And there was music and there was wine,
For the Gypsy and his lady.
“He is no Gypsy, my father,” said she,
“But a lord of freelands all over;
And I will stay to my dying day,
With my whistling Gypsy rover.
America The Beautiful
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain.
Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress,
A thoroughfare for freedom beat,
Across the wilderness.
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
Oh beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
‘Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dreams
That sees beyond the years;
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears.
America! America! God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.
5
Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle went to town, a-riding on a pony;
Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni.
Chorus
Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step and with the girls be handy.
Father and I went down to camp along with Captain Gooding
And there we saw the men and boys, as thick as hasty pudding.
There was Colonel Washington, upon a strapping stallion,
A-giving orders to his men, I guess there was a million.
And there I saw a cannon barrel as big as mother’s basin,
And every time they touched it off they scampered like the nation.
Alive, Awake, Alert
Chorus:
I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!
I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!
I’m alive, awake, alert, Alert, awake, alive.
I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!
(when you sing:
I’m alive----- tap thighs
Awake -------- clap hands
Alert -------- snap fingers
Enthusiastic - wiggle torso)
Announcements, Announcements
Announcements, announcements, announcements,
A horrible way to die,
A horrible way to die,
A horrible way to get talked to death.
A horrible way to die,
Make announcements short and sweet
Short and sweet, short and sweet.
Make announcements short and sweet
Short and sweet, short and sweet.
For they are boring.
(sing this any time the four-letter word announcements is used)
The Ants Go Marching
The ants go marching one by one. Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one. Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one.
The little one stops to suck his thumb.
And they all go marching down,
To the ground, to get out of the rain.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
(other verses)
two by two tie his shoe
three by three climb a tree
four by four shut the door
five by five take a dive
six by six pick up sticks
seven by seven pray to heaven
eight by eight shut the gate
nine by nine check the time
ten by ten say "The End"
6
An Austrian
Oh, an Austrian went yodeling on a mountain so high,
When along came a cuckoo bird interrupting his cry.
Oh Le De
Yoddle le kee kee,
Yoddle le coo coo, coo coo
Yoddle le kee kee,
Yoddle le coo coo, coo coo
Yoddle le kee kee,
Yoddle le coo coo, coo coo
Yoddle le kee kee oh.
Grizzly bear Grr.
Lumberjack Timber
Avalanche shhhh
Two lovers kiss, kiss
Preacher man Amen
Bear Song
The other day (repeat) Was ten feet up (repeat)
I met a bear (repeat) I’d have to jump (repeat)
Up in the woods (repeat) And trust to luck. (repeat)
A way up there. (repeat)
(all sing)
(all sing)
The other day I met a bear, The nearest branch was ten feet up
Up in the woods a way up there. I’d have to jump and trust to luck.
He looked at me (repeat) And so I jumped (repeat)
I looked at him (repeat) Into the air (repeat)
He sized up me (repeat) But I missed that branch (repeat)
I sized up him. (repeat) A way up there. (repeat)
(all sing) (all sing)
He looked at me I looked at him
He sized up me I sized up him. And so I jumped into the air
He said to me; (repeat) But I missed that branch a way up there.
Why don’t you run? (repeat) Now don’t you fret (repeat)
Because I see (repeat) Now don’t you frown (repeat)
You have no gun. (repeat) I caught that branch (repeat)
On the way back down. (repeat)
(all sing)
(all sing)
He said to me; "Why don’t you run
Because I see you have no gun." Now don’t you fret now don’t you frown
And so I ran (repeat) I caught that branch on the way back down.
Away from there (repeat) The moral of (repeat)
But right behind me (repeat) This story is (repeat)
Came that bear. (repeat) Don’t talk to bears (repeat)
In NIKE shoes. (repeat)
(all sing)
(all sing)
And so I ran away from there
But right behind me came that bear. The moral of this story is
Ahead of me (repeat) Don’t talk to bears in NIKE shoes.
I saw a tree (repeat) This is the end (repeat)
Oh glory be (repeat) There ain’t no more (repeat)
A great big tree. (repeat) Unless I meet (repeat)
That bear once more. (repeat)
(all sing)
(all sing)
Ahead of me I saw a tree.
Oh glory be a great big tree. This is the end there ain’t no more
The nearest branch (repeat) Unless I meet that bear once more.
7
We’ll All Be Singing
One finger we’ll all keep singing.
One finger we’ll all keep singing.
One finger we’ll all keep singing.
We’ll all be merry and bright.
2. One finger, one thumb
3. One finger, one thumb, one arm
4. One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg
5. One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, a nod of the head,
6. One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, a nod of the head, stand up - sit down
7. One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, a nod of the head, stand up - sit down, stick out your tongue.
Big Rock Candy Mountain (Scouting)
On a summer’s day in the month of May, Chorus
A Tenderfoot Scout came hiking,
Down a shady lane in the sugar cane; There’s a beach of sun,
He was looking for his liking. Where we can have fun,
As he strolled along he sang a song And the ice cream grows on bushes;
Of a land of milk and honey, In the new mown hay,
Where a Scout can stay for many a day, We can sleep all day,
And he don’t need any money. And the malls all have free lunches.
Where the rock and roll pops,
Chorus: And the music never stops,
And the folks are tender hearted,
O the buzzin’ of the bees Where you never change your socks,
And the chocolate trees, And you never throw rocks,
And the root beer fountain, And you hair is never parted.
Where lemonade springs,
And the bluebird signs, Chorus
On the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Oh, a farmer and his son,
On the Big Rock Candy Mountain They were on the run,
All the frogs have wooden legs, To the hay field they were bounding,
The bulldogs all have rubber teeth, Said the Scout to the son,
The hens lay soft boiled eggs, "Why don’t you come
The farmer’s trees are full of fruit, To that Big Rock Candy Mountain?"
The barn’s full of hay, So the very next day they hiked away,
So I manna go where there ain’t no snow, The mile posts they kept counting,
Where the sleet don’t fall But they never arrived at the lemonade tide
And the wind don’t blow, On the Big Rock Candy Mountain
On the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Chorus
Bingo
There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O,
And Bingo was his name-o.
8
Birdie Song
Way up in the sky,
The little birds fly,
While down in the nest,
The little birds rest.
With a wing on their left,
And a wing on their right,
The little birds slumber,
All through the night.
Shhhhhh!
Birds In The Wilderness
(tune: Old Gray Mare)
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness,
Birds in the wilderness,
Birds in the wilderness.
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness,
Waiting for (whomever) to come.
Waiting for (whomever) to come.
Waiting for (whomever) to come.
Here we sit like birds in the wilderness,
Waiting for (whomever) to come.
(put any name in the "whomever" spot)
Boa Constrictor
(Chorus is sung by everyone, the Leader does the spoken parts, then everyone sings the chorus, another
individual does the snake parts at the end)
Chorus:
I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor.
I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor.
And I don’t like snakes one bit.
LEADER SPOKEN PARTS
Oh no! He’s swallowed my toe.
Oh gee! He’s up to my knee.
Oh my! He’s up to my thigh.
Oh jelly! He’s up to my belly.
Oh heck! He’s up to my neck.
I’m nearly all in,
he’s up to my chin!
Oh dread! He’s swallowing my....
SNAKE: BURP! ‘CUSE ME.
9
MY BONNIE (Variations)
Last night as I lay on my pillow,
Last night as I lay on my bed.
I stuck my feet out of the window,
Next morning, my neighbors were dead.
Bring back, Bring back, Bring back
My neighbors to me, to me.
Bring back, Bring back, Bring back
My neighbors to me, to me.
My bonnie leaned over the gas tank
The height of its contents to see.
I lighted a match to assist her,
Oh, bring back my bonnie to me.
Bring back, Bring back, Bring back
My Bonnie to me, to me.
Bring back, Bring back, Bring back
My Bonnie to me, to me.
My breakfast lies over the ocean,
My luncheon lies over the rail,
My supper lies in great commotion,
Will someone please bring me a pail?
Please bring, please bring, please
bring a pail to me, to me.
Please bring, please bring, please
bring a pail to me, to me.
Who knows what I had for breakfast?
Who knows what I had for tea?
Who knows what I had for supper?
Just look out the window and see.
Clams, clams, clams, clams,
Clams and ice cream don’t agree with me.
Clams, clams, clams, clams,
Clams and ice cream don’t agree with me.
Boom Chicka Boom
(Everyone repeats what the leader says)
I said a boom chicka boom
I said a boom chicka boom
I said a boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom
Oh ya’
Auh huh
One more time now.
Then:
Higher
Lower
Faster
Slower
Louder
Softer
10
