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The SR-637 On-Line SongBook

Blessing
Patriotic Songs
Scout Favorites
Wood Badge Songs

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Blessing

Song 01  Camping Hymn
Song 10  Day is Done
Song 18  Going Down the Valley
Song 24  Scout Vespers

Top

Patriotic Songs

Song 02  America
Song 04  America the Beautiful
Song 33  Battle Hymn of the Repubilc
Song 08  Columbia, Gem of the Ocean
Song 17  God Bless America
Song 16  Star Spangled Banner
Song 26  Texas, Our Texas
Song 28  This Land is Your Land
Song 32  You're a Grand Old Flag

Top

Scout Favorites

Song 35  Be a Boy Scout
Song 06  Billboard Song
Song 07  Clementine
Song 09  Commercial Mix-up
Song 11  Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Song 12  Doughnut Song
Song 14  Ghost Chickens in the Sky
Song 19  Grand Old Duke of York
Song 34  Happy Wanderer
Song 20  If I Had a Head Like a Ping Pong Ball
Song 03  My Bonnie
Song 22  Pink Pajamas
Song 25  Scout Westpers
Song 27  There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
Song 29  We Put the Out in Scouting
Song 31  You Can Tell a Scout from Texas

Top

Wood Badge Songs

Song 05  Back to Gilwell
Song 13  Finest Troop of Scouters
Song 15  Gilwell Patrol Song
Song 21  It's in Everyone of Us
Song 23  Quartermaster's Store
Song 30  Wood Badge Spirit

Top



Camping Hymn Play Song (sample melody)

As we stand together at Wood Badge
Give us peace and strength Oh Lord.
Give us courage to continue
By Your good and gracious Word.
As we see Your world around us,
Help us recognize Your hand.
Let us keep and love it ever,
Wondrous wilderness, this land.

As we stand upon this camp ground,
Help us treasure all our days.
Time we spend with you at Wood Badge,
Hear us as we sing your praise.
Hear our prayers accept our singing,
As we lift our voices high.
Thank you Lord, for Your creation
For we know that You are nigh!

Index



Day is Done Play Song (sample melody)

Day is done, gone the sun
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Index



Going Down the Valley Play Song (sample melody)

(Start loudly)
We are going down the valley,
Going down the valley, going down the valley
One by one, one by one.
We are going down the valley, going down the valley
Going to the setting of the sun.
(Sing above verse 3 times, getting softer each time.)

(Start softly)
We are coming up the valley,
Coming up the valley, coming up the valley
One by one, one by one.
We are coming up the valley, coming up the valley
Coming to the rising of the sun.
(Sing above verse 3 times, getting louder each time.)

Index



Scout Vespers Play Song (sample melody)

Softly falls the light of day
While our campfires fade away
Silently each Scout should ask:
Have I done my daily task?
Have I kept my honor bright?
Can I guiltless sleep tonight?
Have I done and have I dared,
Everything to be prepared?

Index



America Play Song (sample melody)

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

My native country, thee, land of the noble free,
The name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Our Fathers' God to Thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might, great God our King.

Index



America the Beautiful Play Song (sample melody)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Index



Battle Hymn of the Repubilc Play Song (sample melody)

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
"As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal";
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

Index



Columbia, Gem of the Ocean Play Song (sample melody)

O, Columbia, the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine if each patriot's devotion,
A world offers homage to thee.
Thy mandates make heroes assemble
When Liberty's form stands in view;
Thy banners make tyranny tremble

When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
When borne by the Red, White and Blue!
Thy banners make tyranny tremble
When born by the Red, White and Blue!

Index



God Bless America Play Song (sample melody)

God bless America, land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam-
God bless America! My home, sweet home.
God bless America! My home, sweet home.

Index



Star Spangled Banner Play Song (sample melody)

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Index



Texas, Our Texas Play Song (sample melody)

Texas, our Texas! All hail the mighty State!
Texas, our Texas! So wonderful so great!
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.
>br>Chorus:
God bless you, Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth,
Throughout the ages long.

Index



This Land is Your Land Play Song (sample melody)

This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California
To the New York Island,
From the redwood forest,
To the Gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking,
That ribbon of highway,
I saw above me
That endless skyway,
I saw below me
That golden valley.
This land was made for you and me

I've roamed and rambled
And I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

The sun comes shining
As I was strolling
The wheat fields waving
And the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

As I was walkin'
I saw a sign there
And that sign said no trespassin'
But on the other side
It didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

In the squares of the city
In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office
I see my people
And some are grumblin'
And some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me
As I go walking
That freedom highway
Nobody living can make me turn back
This land was made for you and me

Index



You're a Grand Old Flag Play Song (sample melody)

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.

Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

Index



Be a Boy Scout

I've got songs to sing,
And I'll sing 'em, sing 'em, sing 'em,
I've got songs to sing I say!
I've got songs to sing
And I'll sing 'em, sing 'em sing 'em,
And I'll sing 'em to the break of day!

Chorus:
And I'ill be a Boy Scout!
Be a Boy Scout! Be a Boy Scout!
I will do my best!
And I will be a Boy Scout!
Be a Boy Scout! Be a Boy Scout!
Do my best!

Index



Billboard Song Play Song (sample melody)

As I was walking down the street one dark and dreary day
I came upon a billboard and much to my dismay
The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before
The wind and rain had done it's job and this is what I saw!

Drink Coca-Cola aftershave, chew Wrigley's Spearmint Cheer
Kennel Ration dog food makes your wife's complexion clear.
Simmonize your baby with a Hershey's candy bar,
Texacola beauty cream is used by all the stars.
So take your next vacation in a brand new Frigidaire,
Learn to play piano in your winter underwear,
Doctors say that babies shouldn't drive until they're three
And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton Tea!

Index



Clementine Play Song (sample melody)

In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mine,
Lived a miner, forty-niner, and his daughter Clementine.

(Chorus)
Oh, my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine!
You are lost and gone forever. Dreadful sorry Clementine!
Light she was and like a fairy, and her shoes where number nine.
Herring boxes without topses, sandals were for Clementine.

Ruby lips above the water, blowing bubbles soft and fine.
But alas, I was no swimmer, so I lost my Clementine!

Listen Boy Scouts, heed the warning, of this tragic tale of mine.
Artificial respiration, could have saved my Clementine!

Index



Commercial Mix-up Play Song (sample melody)

Last night I watched TV
I saw my favorite show
I heard this strange commercial
I can't believe it's so.

Feed your dog Chiffon
Comet cures a cold
Use SOS pads on your face
To keep from looking old

Mop your floor with Crest
Use Crisco on your tile
Clean your teeth with Borateem
It leaves a shining smile.

For headaches take some Certs
Use Tide to clean your face
And do shampoo with Elmer's Glue
It holds your hair in place.

Perhaps I am confused
I might not have it right.
But one thing that I'm certain of
I'll watch TV tonight!

Index



Do Your Ears Hang Low? Play Song (sample melody)

Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em over your shoulder like a continental soldier?
Do you ear hang low?

Do you ears hang high?
Do they point up to the sky?
Do they wrinkle when they're wet?
Do the straighten when they're dry?
Can you signal to your neighbor with a minimum of labor?
Do your ear hang high?

Index



Doughnut Song Play Song (sample melody)

Oh! I went into the city and I walked around the block
And I walked right into a baker shop.
I picked up a doughnut right out of the grease,
And I handed the lady a five-cent piece.
She looked at the nickel,
And she looked at me,
Said she, "This nickel's no good to me.
There's a hole in the middle and it's all the way through."
Said I, "There's a hole in your doughnut, too!"

Index



Ghost Chickens in the Sky Play Song (sample melody)

A chicken farmer went to work one dark and dreary day,
He rested by the hen house as he went upon his way,
When all at once a rotten egg just hit him in the eye.
It was the sight he dreaded
Ghost Chickens in the sky
.
Chorus:
Bok, Bok, Bok, Bok (while flapping arms)
Bok, Bok, Bok, Bok
Ghost Chickens in the sky!

He'd been a chicken farmer since he was 24,
Working for the Colonel for 30 years or more
Killing all those chickens and sending them to fry
Now they want their just revenge,
Ghost chickens in the sky!

Their feet were orange and shiny, their eyes were burning red.
They had no meat or feathers, these chicken were all dead!
They picked the farmed up and killed him with the claw,
They cooked him extra crispy and served him with cole slaw!

Index



Grand Old Duke of York

The grand old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up the hill. (stand up)
And then he marched them down again. (sit down)
And when you're up, you're up (stand up)
And when you're down, you're down (sit down)
And when you're only halfway up (stand halfway up)
You're neither up or down. (stand up, then sit down quickly)

Index



Happy Wanderer Play Song (sample melody)

I love to go a-wandering,
Along the mountain track,
And as I go, I love to sing,
My knapsack on my back.

Chorus:
Val-de-ri--Val-de-ra-
Val-de-ri--Val-de ha ha ha ha ha ha
Val-de-ri--Val-de-ra.
My knapsack on my back.

I love to wander by the stream
That dances in the sun,
So joyously it calls to me,
"Come! Join my happy song!"

I wave my hat to all I meet,
And they wave back to me,
And blackbirds call so loud and sweet
From ev'ry green-wood tree.

High overhead, the skylarks wing,
They never rest at home,
But just like me, they love to sing,
As o'er the world we roam.

Oh, may I go a-wandering
Until the day I die!
Oh may I always laugh and sing
Beneath God's clear blue sky!

Index



If I Had a Head Like a Ping Pong Ball Play Song (sample melody)

If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
Like a ping pong ball.

Like a ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong ball.
Like a ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong, ping pong ball.

If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
If I had a head like a ping pong ball,
(slowly) I'd f-l-o-a-t away!

Index



My Bonnie Play Song (sample melody)

My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea!
My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
Bring back my Bonnie to me!
Bring back, bring back,
Oh Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me!
Oh Bring back my Bonnie to me!

Index



Pink Pajamas Play Song (sample melody)

I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot,
I wear my flannel nighties in the winter when it's not
Sometimes in the springtime and sometimes in the fall,
I jump between the sheets with nothing on at all!

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! What's it to ya!
Balmy breezes blowing through ya!
With nothing on at all!

Index



Scout Westpers Play Song (sample melody)

Softly falls the rain today,
As our campsite floats away.
Silently, each Scout should ask
"Did I bring my SCUBA mask?
Have I tied my tent flaps down?
Learned to swim, so I won't drown?
Have I done, and will I try,
Everything to keep me dry?"

Index



There's a Hole in the Bottom of 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.

Add:
-Knot on the log
-Frog on the knot
-head on the frog
-eye in the head
-sty in the eye
-hair in the sty
-kink in the hair
-germ on the kink

Index



We Put the Out in Scouting Play Song (sample melody)

We put the out in Scouting
We give the flight to Eagles,
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.
Hear! Hear the Scouting thunder
We'll never be hiked under
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.

All Scouts will work together
No matter what the weather
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.
We'll leave a sign that will say
To all who pass this way
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.

We'll blaze a trail from here to
Wherever duty calls us
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.
Scouts, standing row by row,
We're building for tomorrow
We light the light of Scouting
Over the world.

Index



You Can Tell a Scout from Texas Play Song (sample melody)

You can tell a Scout from Texas,
You can tell him by his talk.
You can tell a Scout from Texas,
You can tell him by his walk.
You can tell him by his manners,
His appetite and such.
You can tell a Scout from Texas,
But you sure can't tell him much.

You can tell a Scout from Texas,
His campsite is topnotch
You can tell a Scout from Texas,
His lashings never stop.
A better friend you'll never have,
In winter, spring or fall.
You can tell a Scout from Texas,
His smile's a mile long.

Index



Back to Gilwell Play Song (sample melody)

I used to be a Beaver, and a good ole Beaver too,
But now I've finished Beaver-ing,
I don't know what to do,
I'm growing old and feeble,
And I can Beaver no more,
So I'm going to work my ticket if I can.

All sing Chorus:
Back to Gilwell, happy land;
I'm going to work my ticket if I can.

I used to be a Bobwhite…
I used to be an Eagle…
I used to be a Fox…
I used to be an Owl…
I used to be a Bear…
I used to be a Buffalo…
I used to be an Antelope…
I used to be a Staffer…

Index



Finest Troop of Scouters Play Song (sample melody)

We're the finest troop of Scouters
That will ever congregate.
We've come from different cities
Of the great Texas state.
We have gathered here at camp now
For Wood Badge training fun.
We're proud to say we're members
Of this Gilwell Troop One!

We assemble at the flag pole
On Gilwell Field each morn.
As proudly we're saluting,
We hear that Kudu horn.
We work each day on tickets,
Visions, goals, and more.
Our troop guides want us all to do
Our very best and more.

Index



Gilwell Patrol Song

Oh when the Beavers go chomping trees,
Oh when the Beavers go chomping trees,
Lord I want to be in that number,
When the Beavers go chomping trees!

When the Bobwhites whistle their tune…
When the Eagles go soaring high…
When the Foxes rest in their den…
When the Owls go hoot at night…
When the Bears go hibernate…
When the Buffaloes all stomp their hooves…
When the Antelopes run 'cross the plains…
When the Staff approves our tickets….

Index



It's in Everyone of Us Play Song (large MP3 file)

It's in every one of us to be wise.
Find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It's in every one of us, by and by.

It's in every one of us to be wise.
Find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It's in every one of us, by and by.

It's in every one of us, a kindred spirit.
Awakening me from within.
I'm not all that I can be, but I have a vision
That calls me; let's begin.

I've been realizing that my life is passing.
It's time to get into the show.
Lead to make a difference, serve because I care
And then love, 'cause I know, that is all one need know.

It's in every one of us to be wise.
Find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It's in every one of us, by and by.
It's in every one of us, by and by.

Index



Quartermaster's Store Play Song (sample melody)

There are Beavers, Beavers, Beavers,
Wielding rusty cleavers, at the store...at the store!
There are Beavers, Beavers, Beavers,
Wielding rusty cleavers at the Quartermaster's Store!

All sing Chorus:
My eyes are dim, I cannot see,
I have not got my specs with me!
I have...not...got my specs with me!

There are Bob, Bobwhites wearing silken tights…
There are Eagles, Eagles, Eagles chasing little beagles.…
There are Foxes, Foxes, Foxes stuffed in little boxes.
There are Owls, Owls, Owls eating paper towels...
There are Bears, Bears, Bears with curlers in their hair...
There are Buff-a-loes, with mud between their toes…
There are An-te-lopes eating cantelopes...
There are Staffers, Staffers, Staffers swinging from the rafters….

Index



Wood Badge Spirit

I've got that Wood Badge spirit up in my head,
Up in my head, up in my head!
I've got that Wood Badge spirit up in my head,
Up in my head to stay.

I've got that Wood Badge spirit deep in my heart…(etc.)
I've got that Wood Badge spirit down in my feet…(etc.)
I've got that Wood Badge spirit all over me…(etc.)

I've got that Wood Badge spirit up in my head,
Deep in my hear, down in my feet,
I've got that Wood Badge spirit all over me,
All over me to stay!

Index





Wood Badge for the 21st Century Course SR-637 Was held October 8-10 at The Conference Center and October 29-31, 2004 at Kuester Lodge, BSA Camp Strake near Conroe, Texas.

Wood Badge is leadership training for all Scout Leaders who are involved in the programs of the Boy Scouts of America – Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, and Venturing, as well as council and district leaders, and professionals. Out of Council participants are welcome.

Please email us: Scoutmaster@SR637.org
More Information on SR-637 and other Wood Badge Training opportunities.
SR-636 Visit The SR-636 web site.

© Copyright 2004, Wood Badge Course SR-637 (updated 06/19/2005) This page is provided by BSA Crew-911 and the The NBO Scout Training Team