Tag Archives: camp

Camp Birthday Song

Age: 21

Text:
“Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Everybody knows that it’s your day, so we’re gonna celebrate in the best way. All your friends, no families here. This only happens once a year. Happy, happy birthday? What? Birthday. What?”

Context:
A girl from NYC who learned this song at sleep-away camp, where she spent her summers growing up.

Analysis:
This song is passed down each year from camper to camper during birthday celebrations. It is sung in unison and also features a matching clap “dance” to create the rhythm. This rendition of the Happy Birthday song was made to cater to campers who may or may not be homesick and need to be reminded that they area surrounded by all their friends and having the best time. The song is interactive and dynamic, making the birthday celebration all the more exciting.

Camp Song

Age: 22

Text:
(Call and response) “You can’t ride in my little red wagon.” “You can’t ride in my little red wagon.” “The front seat’s broken, and the axle’s dragging.” “The front seat’s broken, and the axle’s dragging.” “Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga.” “Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga

Context:
A girl who grew up in LA and learned this song at summer camp. She also heard it at other camps beyond that one.

Analysis:
This is a classic camp song that hardly get’s varied with the words, at least from any of the times I’ve heard it. I also learned this in summer camp, but at mine, we had a slight variation by repeating the song multiple times at different volumes. The first time was normal, the second was loud, the third was whispering, and the fourth was loud again. Through this call and response activity, everyone can engage and sing together.

Scary Story

Age: 22

Text:
“I went to sleepaway camp in Maine for seven summers, and I started when I was nine in 2013, and I went until 2019 when I was fifteen. The first three or four summers, obviously, I was pretty young. We would tell these scary stories after our Friday night campfires. Basically the whole camp would go and we’d do camp songs and cheers or whatnot. Then after we’d go and make s’mores by the bunk and sit outside by the lake and tell scary stories. One of the stories that stuck with me literally to this day was ‘Click, Click, Drag.’ It was one of the first horror stories that I was told by one of my counselors, who was an ex-camper. Basically, theres a girl and a guy walking outside, maybe it’s two girls or two campers, and they start hearing this sound: click, click, drag, click, click, drag. It follows them all the way home and picks up the longer they walk, eventually grabbing the girl by the foot and dragging her away. The boy sprints home, and shortly after, he hears knocking on the door. The voice of the monster talks as if it’s the girl, screaming, ‘Help! Help! Open the door! Open the door!’ The boy opens the door and is dragged out. He was never seen again.”

Context:
A girl from Palm Beach, FL who went to sleep-away summer camp in Maine every summer while growing up. She recalls a scary story that she learned from her counselor, who also went to the same camp when she was a kid.

Analysis:
This is a demonstration of folklore being passed through generations through storytelling. She learned this story from a former camper, suggesting that her counselor also learned the story in a similar setting. She also noted that she doesn’t remember the story completely and that some details were likely lost in her memory, which is what often leads to multiplicity and variation between the same stories. It is also interesting that scary stories are quintessential parts of summer camp and sitting around bondfires.

Camp Song

Informant: Let me sing it for you—it’s actually really good. I mean, it’s like a real song with a melody… kind of.

It goes something like:
“Announcements, announcements, announcements—
a horrible way to die,
a horrible way to die,
a horrible way to start the day,
a horrible way to die…”

And then it turns into this chant where everyone joins in—like, “Marshmallow! Shut up! Throw them in the lake, throw them in the lake!” or sometimes the pool.

There’s a whole other part of it that I can’t totally remember, but I swear there was more. And then at some point it just turns into random stuff—like people shouting “Mickey Mouse! Lego!”

It’s very chaotic, but that’s kind of what makes it fun.


Context: The informant learned this song at her sleepaway summer camp located in the Berkshires. The first part of the song was sung whenever someone said the word “announcements.” The second part of the song would be sung, and depending on if they were closer to the lake or pool, the individual who said the word would then be thrown in that body of water. Announcements not happening when they were scheduled to (at breakfast) were seen as bad luck in the camp, thus not wanting the word to be said by campers and counselors during the day.

Analysis: The word “announcements” acts as a kind of trigger word, activating the performance or, in a sense, conversion superstition. This connects the song to a belief system within the camp, that saying the word at the wrong time is associated with bad luck (since missed announcements disrupt routine). The second part of the tradition, throwing the person into the lake or pool, turns it into more of a ritual. Though somewhat of a punishment, it reinforces group norms (don’t say “announcements” casually) within the folk group (campers).

Camp Ghost Story

Informant: The old owner of the property had a daughter [named] Gertrude who was in a wheelchair and he built it all for her. Apparently, she haunts the manor house basement, like the cellar…She fell down the stairs in her wheelchair is the story. 

Context: The informant learned this song at her sleepaway summer camp located in the Berkshires. She was in middle school when she first heard the story and heard it reinforced as she grew older at this camp. 


Analysis: This story connects Gertrude to a specific location (the manor house basement), which is a key feature of legends; they are told as if they could be true and are grounded in real-world settings. The narrative follows a familiar memorate/legend pattern: a tragic backstory (a girl in a wheelchair who dies by falling down the stairs) explains the presence of a haunting. This kind of scary origin story gives a bigger meaning to the space. It turns a normal basement or cellar into a potentially dangerous location that children shouldn’t want to be around. It also reflects common motifs in ghost lore, including untimely death and a lingering presence.