There are a few songs I know by rote, but lullabies aren’t in my repertoire.
However, I do know summer camp songs — some very well. They were a pretty big part of my childhood. During much of my youth, Wednesdays after dinner I’d spend at Girl Scout troop meetings in the basement of the Lutheran church. When I was a Junior Girl Scout, we’d begin and end meetings singing peppy fun songs that prepared us for summer scout camp. By the time we got to camp, we knew the words and all the extra-silly verses.
Yesterday, I was driving a screaming baby boy to Wash Park for an early morning walk with two other mommies and their babes. He was not happy, having been woken up from a quick nap so I could put him in a sleeper.
By the time we got to 8th and Corona, he was bananas baby in the back seat. After saying things like, “Oh Benjamin, why are you crying, baby boy?” and “Darling boy, please don’t get worked up…” I did what I had to do, and started singing him camp songs.
It worked! By 1st and Downing he was asleep. Or maybe he was pretending to be asleep so I’d stop singing. Either way.
I sang, “Oh I Wish,” and “I Went to a Chinese Restaurant.” I also sung him what I remembered of “The Cannibal King.”
The songs are silly and fun and plain strange. Luckily, my audience didn’t seem to mind.
Maybe one day he’ll be singing them around a campfire like I used to…
[source]
Oh I wish
Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
Oh I wish I was a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
I’d go slippy, slippy, slidey over everybody’s hiney
Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
Slice of orange…I’d go squirty, squirty, squirty over everybody’s shirty…
Sip of Coke..I’d go down with a slurp, and come up with a burp…
Church pigeon…I’d get up on the steeple and go “pfffft” on the people…
I went to a Chinese restaurant (a partner clapping really bizarre song)
I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread-bread-bread
He wrapped it up in a brown paper bag and this is what he said-said-said
My name is…
kay-eye-pickle-eye-pickle-eye-kay-eye
huckleberry full of whiskey
Chinese chopsticks ciao!
(and that’s all I remember!)
The Cannibal King (warning: PG-13 lyrics!)
The Cannibal King with a big nose ring
Fell in love with a dusty maid
And every night by the pale moon light
Across the lake he wade
He hugged and kissed his pretty little miss
Under the bamboo tree
And every night by the pale moon light
It sounded like this to me
Ba-roomp, Ba-roomp
Ba-roomp, ah-de ah-de ay
Ba-roomp, Ba-roomp
Ba-roomp, ah-de ah-de ay