Tag Archives: camp

Folk Song – Westlake Village, California

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

Tarzan

(Leader goes: “This is a repeat after me song!”)

Tarrrrrrrzan

Swinging on a rubber band

Tarrrrrrrzan

Bumped into a frying pan

Ooo that hurts

Now Tarzan has a tan

And I hope he doesn’t peel

Like a banaaaaaaana

Jaaaaaane

Hanging on an airplane

Jaaaaane

Crashed into a traffic lane

Ooo that hurts

Now Jane has a pain

And Tarzan has a tan

And I hope he doesn’t peel

Like a banana

Cheeeeeetah

Dancing on a pizza

Cheeeeetah

Burned his little feetza

Now Cheetah is velveeta

And Jane has a pain

And Tarzan has a tan

And I hope he doesn’t peel

Like a banaaaana

(Singer sings name of a camper)

Fell in love with Cheetah

Ooooooooooooo

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 “Tarzan” back when she was a camper around 1993.

At first glance, the lyrics of “Tarzan” seem very random, intended merely for entertainment purposes. Inspired by the traditional Tarzan stories, the popular song features reckless characters that reach bizarre consequences for their actions. Thus, the song’s central theme is to warn kids from performing senseless actions (such as “hanging on an airplane”) by stressing the potential risks of such activity ( as Jane “crashed into a traffic lane”). First Neighborhood Day Camp is not gated and is surrounded by public parks and residential neighborhoods; therefore, it is imperative that the campers do not wander off and act foolishly. Of course, the primary goal is for the kids to have fun, but not at the expense of their safety. The song suggests that people must take responsibility for their actions, even if they seem as harmless as “dancing on a pizza.” At the end, the song ends on a humorous note, with the song leader selecting a camper that will fall in love with Cheetah, much to the amusement of the rest of the camp.

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.

Folk Song – Westlake Village, California

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

Little Red Wagon

You can’t ride in my little red wagon

Front seat’s broken

And the axel’s draggin

CHUGA!….CHUGA!…CHUGA CHUGA CHUGA!

Next verse, same as the first

But a whole lot louder and a whole lot worse!

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 “Little Red Wagon” back when she was a camper around 1993.

“Little Red Wagon” is one of the most energetic songs that the campers sing, as it progressively gets louder for about five verses until everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs. Naturally, the clamor makes it a camp favorite, but it also presents an anti-materialistic message. Although the wagon has a broken seat and a faulty axel, the singers are proud to own it and are unwilling to part with it. The wagon is described as shoddy and small, but yet its sentimental value is indispensable. Surprisingly, the song seems to discourage sharing, which is a primary value of the camp, but the central message conveyed is that value is not measured in monetary standards. Instead, it encourages the children, rich or poor, to take pride in their interests, regardless of how they are perceived by others. Although most campers come from relatively wealthy families, Nicole has established a rule that prevents campers from bringing their personal gadgets to the camp (such as cell phones and portable video games) in order to prevent jealousy and class-consciousness amongst the campers.

Legend

Nationality: Irish, Hispanic, Polish, German
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Granger, IN
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English

Legend of Tannadoonnah

“There is a tribe of Indians who lived where camp is now…land of birches; you know, birch trees and a birch lake. They lead a simple, peaceful life…they farmed and gathered fish. They lived like this for many years and eventually the white settlers spread into Michigan. They felt their lives were interrupted because white men were taking things from them. Things were tense because they couldn’t communicate with each other and it looked like there was going to be a war. The chief’s daughter was the peacemaker between the Indian tribe and white man because she won affections of one of the white men. Instead of gaining trust from both, she made both sides suspicious of her. All the Indians were afraid she was betraying them. White men saw how close she was with her father and thought she was a fraud. But then, one day, fighting erupted between the Indians and white men, and the princess was scared and didn’t want her people to get hurt. She didn’t want her new friends to get hurt either, so she got in middle of it. She was killed. The main white man told them she wasn’t a spy…was trying to make peace all along, so the white men and Indian tribe gave Tannadoonah a nice burial site. They grew a tree on top of her grave. It grew and now it protects and watches over the land and is supposed to symbolize protection and friendship between nature (Indians) and white men (campers).

They say that campers are still haunted by Indians. Most of the time, Indians go back to their old ways and play tricks on white men. The council fire room at the camp site was the big council meeting room for Indians. You can go to this tree and her spirit is still there. You can see how she lives through the tree. The roots are twisted and you can see parts of her face and elbow in the tree. It’s her body being incorporated into tree.” –Caitlin Fitzgerald

Analysis:

One day when reminiscing about old summer camp memories, my roommate Caitlin shared this story with me. She went to Camp Tannadoonah, a camp affiliated with Campfire Girls. She learned about the story on a tour of the camp when she was five years old. Every summer when she went back to camp, her campfire leader would retell the story. Caitlin definitely believes in the story. The tree and council room have different connotations. While the tree represents princess Tannadoonah’s guardian spirit, the council room holds scary spirits (and continues to scare the campers).

Before telling me her version of the story (the version her camp leader told her when she was five), she gave me the original story as it was presented on both the camp’s website and others who remember the original version. She says:

“Princess Tannadoonah was promised to be married to a warrior. There was a drought, so the men were in charge of finding food. The princess didn’t want to leave home. She decided to stay because her husband promised to come back for her. In the end, she died before he could come back. He buried her body and planted a tree over her grave. The tree, that is now the tree of Tannadoonah, grew over many years. All of its branches represent the amount of love that Princess Tannadoonah and her warrior had for one another.”

For a camp that has been around since 1921, the legend inevitably experienced multiplicity and variation. Today, according to Caitlin, there are endless variations of the story.

After hearing her story, I recalled my days at Camp Cayuga, sitting around a campfire at 9:00 pm (which was late for me at the time since I was in 8th grade), watching camp counselors and campers enact certain camp songs and stories. This daily ritual essentially brings folklore to life and emulates the traditional act of storytelling that Native Americans started hundreds of years ago. All in all, I could not think of a better place to find folklore than at summer camp. Camp brings people together, creates a sense of belonging, and preserves legends and rituals. I almost think of summer camp as a culture that kids engage in. Since I’m from the east coast (and apparently summer camps are more prevalent there than they are on the west coast), I always bring up summer camp rituals, only to find that no one else knows what I’m talking about. Caitlin was similarly surprised that I had never heard of Tannadoonah’s story.