Campout Songs for School Group

PTOEguy · Mar 12, 2015

I'm going camping with my kids school group this weekend and we will be doing some ukulele around the camp fire. Most of the kids know C, F and G chords and some of the older ones know D and A minor.

I'm looking for song suggestions that would be easy to play for the first time and would be appropriate for gradeschoolers

Captain America · Mar 12, 2015

I'm really gratified you're doing this. There is at least one generation, and the newest one, which is disconnected from stuff like "My Darling Clementine" and "the Old Gray Mare" and "Who's in the Kitchen? I've been working on the RR" songs.

Makes it tough to teach uke classes when no one has songs in common.

spookelele · Mar 12, 2015

http://play.riffstation.com/?v=oOlDewpCfZQ

Transposed 1 step up, you can get away with C F G Am

If you watch it in youtube, there's a song list in the description.

deschutestrout · Mar 12, 2015

Captain America said:
I'm really gratified you're doing this. There is at least one generation, and the newest one, which is disconnected from stuff like "My Darling Clementine" and "the Old Gray Mare" and "Who's in the Kitchen? I've been working on the RR" songs.

Makes it tough to teach uke classes when no one has songs in common.

That would be a very cool, educational, history-oriented route to take! "There's a hole in my bucket" comes to mind ... songs the kids will hopefully teach their kids .... old standards and sing-alongs. Print out lyric and chord sheets (has to be a ton of online resourses) make them all a little folder they can keep ... and make sure they all bring a headlamp

. Very neat what you're doing!

Robin Harrison · Mar 13, 2015

Here's a dead easy but great song......as in, loads of fun to sing............
The trad shanty " Pay Me My Money Down".
I've just spent 30 minutes trying to attach my pdf of the tune but it's not working............it's 79kb and maybe too big.
However I'm pushed for time..........if you pm me asap with an email I'll send it on.
The great things about this song is

1.....2 chords for beginners...my version is in A ( for my voice) but transpose it into C and you'e got C & G7
2......the chords change on the word "Money " every time. Easy to teach.
3.....Bruce Springsteen sings this song........'nuff said ?

Great verse too........
"If I'd known the boss was blind,
Pay me my money down.
I would'na come to work till half past nine" ! etc

Finally.......The shanty-man always made up verses to help the work along so it's Ok to do that too. It's the folk process in action

ie if you're with a group of friends.
"It's cool to hang out with your friends.
Pay me my money down.
I sure hope it never ends"

Or "The 'ukulele is the best.
Pay me my money down.
Pick one up, you'll never rest"

Hope this helps.

bonesigh · Mar 13, 2015

I've got quite a few songs that would be good as I taught the elementary school kids here when we got ukes for the school. Let me know if you'd like me to post 'em. Also they probably can't play this one but it's a fun song to sing to them. Part of the story is true about how the racoon creeped into the tent and a girl we knew pet him (like it was her cat on her lap) before they all realized.....it weren't no cat!

Code:

[COLOR="#B22222"][SIZE=4]“Coon Named Scrounge”[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Pastiche by Janet Tolin of a song written by
Jim Croce. 1973 “Leroy Brown”

Intro: F, F, G7, C7, F, C7

        F
On the south side of the Forest
          G7
Lives the baddest raccoon around
   A7                         Bb
And if you go down there you just better beware
     C7                 F        C7
Of a coon who’s name is Scrounge
     F
Now, Scrounge he’s so onry, you see,
   G7
He stands about 3 foot tall
        A7                  Bb
All the mamas call him the “Midnight Bandit”,
        C7                 F    C7
All the dads just call him “Cur!”

CHORUS
            F
Well he’s a bad, bad coon named Scrounge,
G7
Baddest coon in the whole darned town
     A7                 Bb
He’s badder than a wolverine,
                C7               F     C7
Meaner than the monsters in your dreams

    F
Now Scrounge, he’s a rambler,
       G7
And he likes your garbage can
       A7                     Bb
And he likes to behave like a bratty child
        C7                 F  C7
Chewin’ holes in the attic fan
         F
Well, he wears a phantom mask,
         G7
He’s got stripes like a lemur too
     A7                        Bb
He’s only just begun to make a mess here son,
            C7              F    C7
He just put poo poo in your shoe!

CHORUS
     F
Well Friday, “bout a week ago,
             G7
He sniffed a scent that did entice,
        A7                 Bb
He went into the tent of a girl named Doris,
     C7                      F    C7
And, oooh, that girl smelled nice!
         F
Well, he crawled into her lap,
         G7
Then she pet him like a cat,
        A7                            Bb
But, ol’ Scrounge learned his lesson ‘bout messin’
              C7                      F    C7
Around with a tent full of girls like that.


CHORUS
      F
Well, all the young girls were frightened,
          G7
When they saw it weren’t a kitty cat
         A7
Oh, they shrieked so loud,
              Bb
And then they all passed out
         C7                    F    C7
And they squashed that raccoon flat.

         F
He was a bad, bad coon named Scrounge,
G7
Baddest coon in the whole darned town
     A7                 Bb
He’s badder than a wolverine,
                       C7                    F     C7
Meaner than the monsters in your dreams

          A7                         Bb
He was badder than a wolverine,
                       C7                    F     C7 F
Meaner than the monsters in your dreams

MutinousDoug · Mar 13, 2015

My grand kids liked: "Ain't no bugs on me" when they were younger and I tried to teach them "Ape man" by the Kinks but they learned it faster than I did.

Louden Wainwright's: "Dead Skunk in the middle of the Road" was a really big hit with all age groups.

ricdoug · Mar 13, 2015

https://halifaxukulelegang.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/campfire-song-book.pdf

Campout Songs for School Group

PTOEguy

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Captain America

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spookelele

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deschutestrout

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Robin Harrison

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bonesigh

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MutinousDoug

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ricdoug

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