Campfire Sing-a-Longs (page 3)
47 JOHN HENRY (STEEL DRIVIN' MAN)
When John Henry was just a little baby boy,
No bigger than the palm of your hand,
His mammy looked down at John Henry and said:
My Johnny' be a steel drivin' man, Lord, Lord,
My Johnny' be a steel drivin' man.
John Henry said to the captain,
"Captain, why don't you learn to swing.
I'm drivin' forty nine pounds from my hip bottom down,
Love to hear that cold steel ring, Lord, Lord,
Love to hear that cold steel ring."
John Henry had a pretty little
woman, and her name was Polly Ann.
John Henry took sick and had to go to bed,
Polly drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord,
Polly drove steel like a man.
John Henry went up on a mountain,
that steam hammer by his side,
But he'd beat that drill through to
the end of the line,
When he laid down his hammer and he
cried, Lord, Lord,
He laid down his hammer and he cried.
John Henry drove steel round that
mountain, till the hammer put out
fire.
For that very last word I hear John
Henry say, A cool glass of water
I'm gonna die, Lord, Lord,
A cool glass of water I'm gonna
die.
Well they buried John Henry in the
graveyard,
They lay him six feet under the
sand,
Every time a freight train go
rolling' on by,
They say yonder lies a steel
drivin' man, Lord, Lord,
Yonder lies a steel drivin' man.
48 FORTY ACRES
He was headed into Boston in a big old diesel truck
It was his first shift and he was having' lots of luck.
He went the wrong direction down a one way street in town.
And this is what he said when the police chased him down.
CHORUS:
Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around.
It's the easiest way that I've found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime or
turn it right downtown,
But I need 40 acres to turn this rig around.
When he finally found where to
unload, he had a dreadful shock.
His trailer pointed to the road,
And his cab right to the dock.
And as he looked around him,
through his tears he made this
sound:
Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this
rig around.
CHORUS
When he finally got unloaded, he
was asked to leave the town.
He was very, very happy, going back
to Alabama.
When up ahead he saw a sign said,
you are northward bound.
Give me 40 acres and I'll turn
this rig around.
CHORUS
He was drivin' down the right lane
when ahead he saw a sign,
He had to make a left turn, but he
could not get in line.
The tears were streaming' down his
cheeks and they all heard him yell:
Give me 40 sticks of dynamite 'n I'll
blow this rig to...
Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this
rig around.
It's the easiest way that I've
found.
Some guys can turn it on a dime or
turn it right downtown;
But I need 40 acres to turn this
rig around.
49 THE BOLL WEEVEL SONG
Brook Benton
Spoken:
Let me tell you a story about a
boll weevil Now some of you may not
know, but a boll weevil is an
insect And he's found mostly where
cotton grows Now where they come
from, nobody really knows But this
is the way the story goes.
The farmer said to the boll weevil,
I see you're on my square.
The boll weevil said to the farmer,
Yep, my whole darn family's here.
We gotta have a home, we gotta have
a home.
The farmer said to the boll weevil;
Say, why'd you pick my farm?
The weevil just laughed at the farmer
and said;
We ain't gonna do much harm.
We're looking for a ho o o o o ome.
And the boll weevil spied him a
lightning' bug.
He said; yea, I'd like to make a
trade with you,
Cuz' you see, if I was a lightning' bug,
I'd search the whole night through.
A searching' for a home I'd have me
plenty of homes.
And the boll weevil called the
farmer and said;
You better sell your old machines
'Cause when I'm through with your
cotton, heh,
You can't even buy gasoline.
I wanna take me a home, gotta have
a home.
And the boll weevil said to the
farmer;
Say farmer, I'd like to wish you
well.
Farmer said to the boll weevil;
Yea, 'n I wish that you went to...
Looking' for a home, looking' for a
home.
Ah, you'd have a home all right,
you'd have a real hot home.
51 DAY-O
CHORUS:
Day-O, Day-O,
Daylight come and me wan' go home,
Day-O, Day-O,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Stock bananas till the morning come,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Come Mr. Tally man, Tally me bananas,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
(repeat)
CHORUS
Pick six foot, seven foot, eight
foot bunch,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
(repeat)
CHORUS
A beautiful bunch of ripe banana,
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
Hide the deadly black tarantula.
Daylight come and me wan' go home.
CHORUS
52 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 stopped to suck his
thumb, And they all go marching
Down to the ground, to the earth.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Two by two - to tie his shoe
Three by three - to scratch his knee
Four by four - to shut the door
Five by five - to dance and jive
Six by six - to pick up sticks
Seven by seven - to look to heaven
Eight by eight - to shut the gate
Nine by nine - to have a shoe shine
Ten by ten - he want's to start
again!!!
53 BOA-CONSTRICTOR
I'm being swallowed by a boa-
constrictor,
I'm being swallowed by a boa-
constrictor,
And I don't like it one little bit.
Oh, no, he's got my toe,
O gee, he's up to my knee,
Oh, my, he's reached my thigh,
O fiddle, he's at my middle,
Oh heck, he's up to my neck,
O dread, He's got my GULP!!!
54 GREEN GRASS
(THERE WAS A HOLE)
(repeat each line after leader)
There was a hole The prettiest
little hole that you ever did see,
CHORUS: (ALL) And the green grass
grew all around, all around, And
the green grass grew all around.
And in that hole There was a tree
The prettiest little tree that you
ever did see,
(ALL) And the tree was in the hole,
And the hole was in the ground,
CHORUS (ALL)
CONTINUE ADDING ONE LINE AT A TIME
Now on that tree there was a branch..
the prettiest little et c...
...limb on the tree
...nest on the limb
...egg in the nest
...bird in the egg
...wing on the bird
...feather on the wing
...bacteria on the feather
LAST VERSE
And the bacteria was on the
feather, And the feather was on the
wing, And the wing was on the bird,
And the bird was in the egg, And
the egg was in the nest, And the
nest was on the limb, And the limb
was on the tree, And the tree was
in the hole, And the hole was in
the ground,
CHORUS
55 HOLE IN THE SEA
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea,
There's a hole, there's a hole,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There's a log in the hole in the
bottom of the sea,
There's a log in the hole in the
bottom of the sea,
There's a hole, there's a hole,
There's a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There's a bump on the log in the hole ... etc.
There's a frog on the bump on the log ... etc.
There's a fly on the frog on the bump ... etc.
There's a wing on the fly on the
frog ... etc.
There's a flea on the wing on the
fly on the frog On the bump on the
log in the hole in the bottom of
the sea There's a hole, there's a
hole, There's a hole in the bottom
of the sea.
56 I-VEE
(TUNE: MY BONNIE)
My body has calamine lotion,
My body's as sore as can be,
The flowers I gathered for Granny,
Turned out to be poison I-Vee.
Don't touch, don't touch,
You'll get a rash from I-Veee,
I-Vee
It will, itch bad,
And it looks worse than ac-nee.
57 ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI
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 out of the door.
It rolled in the garden, and under
a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.
The mush was as tasty as tasty
could be,
And early next summer,
It grew into a tree.
The tree was all covered with
beautiful moss,
It grew lovely meatballs,
And tomato sauce.
So if you eat spaghetti, all
covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatballs,
And don't ever sneeze.
58 MOUNTAIN DEW
My uncle Bill has a still on the hill,
Where he runs off a gallon or two,
The birds in the sky get so drunk
they can't fly,
In that good old mountain dew.
CHORUS:
They call it that good old
mountain dew,
And them that refuse it are few,
I'll hoist up my mug if you fill
up my jug,
With that good old mountain dew.
My cousin Mort,
He's sawed off and short, He measures
just four foot two,
But he thinks he's a giant,
when you give him a pint of that
good old mountain dew.
CHORUS
Down the road here from me there's
a big hollow tree,
Where you lay down a dollar or two,
You go 'round the bend, and come
back again,
There's a jug of that good old
mountain dew.
CHORUS
My brother Don has a still in the
john,
Where he'll run off a gallon or two.
When the Revenuers come rushing'
He'd just give it a flush'n'
There'd go that good old
mountain dew.
Chorus
Make up your own verses for other
names!
59 THERE'S A HOLE IN THE BUCKET
Liza: Henry! Fetch me some water!
Henry: There's a hole in the
bucket dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in the
bucket dear Liza, a hole.
Liza: Well, fix it dear Henry, dear
Henry, dear Henry, well,
fix it dear Henry, dear
Henry, fix it.
Henry: With what shall I fix it ...
Liza: With a straw dear Henry ...
Henry: The straw is too long ...
Liza: Well, cut it dear Henry ...
Henry: With what shall I cut it ...
Liza: With an axe dear Henry ...
Henry: The axe is too dull dear Liza .
Liza: Well, sharpen it dear Henry ...
Henry: With what shall I sharpen it ...
Liza: With a stone dear Henry ...
Henry: The stone is too dry dear Liza ...
Liza: Well, wet it dear Henry ...
Henry: With what shall I wet it ...
Liza: With water dear Henry ...
Henry: In what shall I fetch it ...
Liza: In a bucket dear Henry ...
Henry: There's a hole in the bucket,
dear Liza ...
60 ALICE THE CAMEL
Alice the camel has ten humps,
Alice the camel has ten humps,
Alice the camel has ten humps,
Go Alice go. (hit hips)
Repeat verses down to no humps
Alice the camel has no humps,
Alice the camel has no humps,
Alice the camel has no humps,
Alice is a HORSE.
61 HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
knees and toes,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
knees and toes,
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes.
knees and toes.
Note: Touch each part of the body
as you sing it. Second time leave
out word "head", just touch it, and
so on. Last verse will be all actions, no words.
62 ALONG CAME JONES
I plopped down in my easy chair
And I turned on channel two.
A bad gunslinger named Salty Sam
Was chasing' poor Sweet Sue.
He trapped her in the old sawmill
And said with an evil laugh,
"If you don't give me the deed to
your ranch I'll saw y'all in half.
And then he grabbed her...
(help he grabbed me!)
He tied her up...
(Help he's tying' me up!)
He turned on the BUZZ-SAW...
(He's turning' on the buzz saw)
And then...and then...
And then along came Jones.
Tall thin Jones.
Slow walking' Jones, Low talking'
Jones.
Along came long lean lanky Jones.
Commercial came on, so I got up to
fix myself a snack.
You should have seen what was going
on by the time that I got back.
Down in the old abandoned mine,
Sweet Sue was having' fits,
That villain said "Give me the deed
to your ranch, or I'll blow y'all
to bits".
And then he grabbed her...
(Help he grabbed Me)
He tied her up...
(Help, he's tying me up)
He lit the fuse to the dynamite..
(He's lighting' the fuse to the
dynamite)
And then...and then...
And then along came Jones
Tall thin Jones.
Slow walking' Jones, Low talking'
Jones.
Along came long lean lanky Jones.
I got so bugged I turned it off and
turned on another show.
But there was the same old shoot-
em-up, and the same old rodeo.
Salty Sam was trying' to stuff Sweet
Sue in a burlap sack.
"If you don't give me the deed to
your ranch I'll throw you on the
railroad track!"
And then he grabbed her...
(Help he grabbed me, help)
He tied her up...
(Here we go again, tying' me up)
He threw her on the railroad track,
The train started commin'
(Ohhh! Here comes the train)
And then...and then...
And then along came Jones
Tall thin Jones.
Slow walking' Jones, Low talking'
Jones.
Along came long lean lanky Jones.
63 THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS
OF BANANAS
by HARRY CHAPIN
It was just after dark as the truck
started down
The hill that leads into Scranton
Pennsylvania.
Carrying' thirty thousand pounds of
bananas.
Yes carryin' thirty thousand pounds
of bananas.
He was a young driver, just out on
his second job.
Carryin' the next days pasty fruit,
To everyone in that coal scarred
city
Where children play without despair
In backyard slag piles.
And folks manage to eat each day
Just about thirty thousand pounds
of bananas,
Yes there were thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
He passed a sign that he should
have seen
Saying "shift to low gear or fifty-
dollar fine, my friend"
He was thinking perhaps about the
warm breathed woman who was
waiting' at the journey's end.
He started down the two-mile drop--
the winding road that ran from
the top of the hill.
He was pushing on through the
shortening miles
That ran down to the depot.
Just a few more miles to go,
And he'd go home and have her ease
his long cramped day away.
And the smell of thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
Yes the smell of thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
He was picking' up speed
As the city spread it's twinkling'
lights below him.
But he paid no heed as the
shivering' thought of the nights
delights went through him.
His foot nursed the brakes to slow
him down,
But the peddle floored easy without
a sound.
He said, "CHRIST."
It was funny how he'd named the
only one who could save him now.
He was trapped inside a dead-end
hell-slide,
Riding on his fear-hunched back was
every one of those yellow-green.
I'm telling you thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
Yes there were thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
He barely made the sweeping curve
that led into the steepest grade.
And he missed a thankful passing
bus at ninety miles an hour.
And he said, "God make it a dream"
As he rode his last ride down.
And he said, "God make it a dream"
as he rode his last ride down.
And he sideswiped nineteen neat-
parked cars.
Clipped off thirteen telephone
poles.
Hit two houses, bruised eight
trees, and blue-crossed seven
people.
It was then he lost his head, not
to mention an arm or two before
he stopped.
And he smeared for four-hundred
yards along the hill that leads
into Scranton, Pennsylvania,
All those thirty thousand pounds of
bananas.
You Know the man who told me about
it on the bus, as it went up the
hill out of Scranton,
Pennsylvania.
He shrugged his shoulders, he shook
his head, and He said,
"Boy it sure must have been
something.
Just imagine, thirty thousand
pounds of bananas.
Yes there were thirty thousand
pounds of mashed bananas.
64 THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE ME AWAY
Remember when you ran away,
And I got on my knees and begged
you not to go because I'd go BERSERK!!
Well you left me anyhow and then
the days got worse and worse,
And now you see I've gone
completely out of my mind!
And...
They're coming to take me away,
Ha Ha!
They're coming to take me away,
Ho Ho, He He, Ha Ha!
To the funny farm, where life is
beautiful all the time,
And I'll be happy to see those nice
young men in their clean white
coats.
And they're coming to take me away,
Ha Ha!!!
I cooked your food, I cleaned your
bed,
And this is how you pay me back for
all my kind unselfish loving deeds?
HUH!!
Well, you just wait, they'll find you yet,
And when they do they'll put you in
the A.S.P.C.A., you MANGEY MUTT!!!
And, They're coming to take me away
Ha Ha!
They're coming to take me away,
Ho Ho, He He, Ha Ha!
To the happy home, with trees and
flowers and chirping birds, and
basket weavers who sit and
twiddle their thumbs and toes,
And they're coming to take me away,
Ha Ha!
To the funny farm,
And I'll be happy to see those nice
young men in their clean white
coats.
And they're coming to take me away,
Ha Ha!!
65 ONE DARK NIGHT
(Tune: "There'll Be a Hot
Time in the Old Town Tonight")
Divide the Audience into four
parts, and assign each part as
follows, "FIRE", "WATER" "JUMP" OR
"SPLAT". after singing it through,
do it faster, and/or "backwards" as
shown below.
One dark night when we were all in
bed,
Old lady Leary left a lantern in
the shed,
And when the cow kicked it over,
She winked her eye and said:
"There'll be a hot time in the old
town tonight.
" FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
WATER! WATER! WATER!
JUMP! LADY, JUMP!
AHHHHHH, SPLAT!
One night dark, when bed we all
were in,
Old Leary lady left the shed a
lantern in.
And when the kick, cowed it over,
She eyed her wink and said:
"There'll be a time hot in the town
old tonight.
" IFER! IFER! IFER!
RETAW! RETAW! RETAW!
LADY! JUMP, LADY!
SPLAT, AHHHHHHH!
66 BEEP BEEP
Note: Start out the song very
slowly, then increase the speed as
you go along, until you are
virtually going as fast as you can
by the end of the song.
While riding in my Cadillac,
Much to my surprise.
A little Nash-Rambler right behind.
'Bout one half my size.
CHORUS:
The guy must have wanted to pass me
up As he kept on blowing his
horn.
I'll show him that a Cadillac is
not a car to scorn.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep!
His horn went Beep Beep Beep!
I put my foot down to the floor,
To give the guy the shake.
But the little Nash-Rambler stayed
right behind,
He still had on his brake.
CHORUS
I shifted into passing gear,
And it became a race.
For a Rambler to beat a Caddy,
Would be a big disgrace.
CHORUS
Now we're going a hundred and
twenty,
As fast as I can go.
The little Nash Rambler pulled up
beside just like we're going slow.
The fellow rolls down his
window,
And yells for me to hear,
Hey buddy how can I get this car
Out of second gear!
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