Song – Westlake Village, California

Age: 21
Occupation: Summer Camp Director
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: April 8, 2007
Primary Language: English

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Boom

Uh-huh (echo Uh-huh)

Oh yeah (echo Oh yeah)

One more time (echo One more time)

______ style!!!!!

(The person leading the song can choose from a variety of “styles” and continue as long as he/she wants. Popular styles include ‘Under water style,’ ‘Valley girl style,’ ‘Pirate style,’ or anything else the leader thinks of or chooses)

Nicole Ross is the camp director of First Neighborhood Day Camp in Westlake Village, CA. Over 200 kids attend camp every week, and throughout the day the counselors lead multiple song medleys. Generally, Nicole selects a counselor to come on stage with his/her group of campers and pick a song, which they will sing on stage in front of the entire camp. I attended the camp from ages 7-13, but when I arrived to work as a head counselor in the summer of 2006 I noticed that many of the songs had changed. Since the camp has been around for more than twenty years, many of the songs have been modified, and Nicole brought many new songs to the camp’s tradition. She claims to have learned “Boom-Chic-A-Boom” back when she was a camper around 1993.

The song is filled mostly with meaningless lyrics designed to get kids excited and rowdy. The song is recited in “repeat-after-me” style, meaning the kids have an opportunity to get up and perform in front of a large group. While the lyrics may seem irrelevant, the idea behind the song is to build confidence and creativity. The last line enables campers to choose the “style” of their choice; although there are popular favorites, the kids can essentially make up any style they want on the spot. Sometimes, a specific person will be selected (for example, “Jason style”) to lead his/her own completely unique, goofy rendition. As camp went on, campers became more eager to do their own “style,” revealing that they gradually became comfortable enough to chant alone in front of 200 people. According to Nicole, this transformation in the campers’ self-assurance is a primary goal of the summer camp.