C
C7
F
Fm
Oh they built the ship titanic and they built her out of steel
C
Dm
G7
And they said no strain would ever break her keel
C
C7
F
Fm
But the Lord He raised his hand, said "that ship will never stand"
C
G7
C
It was sad when the great ship went down.
CHORUS
F
C
Oh it was sad, oh it was sad
G7
It was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the...
C
C7
F
Fm
Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives
C
G7
C
It was sad when the great ship went down
They were off the coast of Greenland and a-headed for the shore
When the rich refused to mingle with the poor
So they sent them down below, where they'd be the first to go
It was sad when the great ship went down
CHORUS
Oh the ship was full of sin, and the sides about to burst
When the captain shouted "women and children first"
And the first mate tried the wire, but the lines were all afire
It was sad when the great ship went down
CHORUS
So they lowered the lifeboats out o'er the cold and raging sea
And the band struck up "Oh near' my God to Thee"
And the women and children cried as the waves washed over the side
It was sad when the great ship went down
CHORUS (sing
the first three lines of the next verse slowly and tearfully)
Now because of this sad, and fateful tragedy
A mighty Coast Guard cutter patrols the lonely sea
And every now and then they pass o'er that spot again
(a tempo)
It was sad when the great ship went down
CHORUS
Well they built another ship and they called her Mary Jane
And the bow and the stern were painted just the same
And they christened her with beer but she sank right off the pier
It was sad when the great ship went down
CHORUS (2X)
There seem to be several versions of the Titanic out there. This is the version I picked up at National Camping School in 1975.
CHORUS
F
C
Oh it was sad, oh it was sad
G7
It was sad when the great Geech went down to the bottom of the...
C
C7
F
Fm
Eagles and scouts, they could barely bail out
C
G7
C
It was sad when the great Geech went down
They were off the coast of Summit and a-headin' for the dock
When the hole in the bottom threw them into shock
Well that wasn't the worst of all, it was big as a basketball
It was sad when the great Geech went down.
CHORUS
Oh the ship was full of Scouts, and the sides about to burst
When Gillie shouted "All the staffers first!"*
Oh the Tenderfoots cried as the mud washed over the side
It was sad when the great Geech went down.
CHORUS
(sing the first three lines of the next verse slowly)
Now because of this sad tale, that scout camp took so hard
A mighty scout executive (if one is present,
have him stand up and take a bow) patrols the navy yard
And every now and then they buy a Geech again
(a Tempo)
It was sad when the great Geech went down.
CHORUS
Well they bought another Geech and they called her "double ought"
And the bow and the stern were just about to rot
Well they christened her with whiskey and they said "It's kind of risky"
It was sad when the great Geech went down.
CHORUS (2X)
* The original words were "All the Lifers first".
The
Lifers for Life was a club started in 1975 of young men who who had made
life rank, turned 18, but stayed on in scouting. They were the heart
of Camp Thunderbird staff through much of the late 1970's. "Gillie"
refers to Jim Gillie (not his brother Tim), who served on staff from the
late 1960's to the early 1990's. Lantz and Ralph wrote the song in
either 1977 or '78 when I was the program director of Camp Thunderbird.
The song is copyrighted, and I believe all royalties assigned to Camp Thunderbird.
The intent was to make it available for use of scouting groups. Over
the years it has been used in many of the camps in the Pacific Northwest.
The
Geech is an old world war two vintage lifeboat that we outfitted with rope
oarlocks (and huge, two boy oars), a mast, and a piece of an old tent for
a sail. I'm not sure where the name "Geech" came from. The
original name was the "Orange Crate". We did buy a second "Geech
class" lifeboat, and it was named the double ought (00).
(Leader) Well the Lord, He thought He'd
make a man
(Everybody) Dem bones gonna rise again
(Leader) A little bit of mud and a hand
full of sand (find
some sand in an audience members hair)
(Everybody) Dem bones gonna rise again
CHORUS
(Clap down to the word "hey")
I knowed it, knowed it,
Indeed I knowed it brother
I knowed it, HEY, dem bones
gonna rise again
Well He thought He'd make a woman too
Course He didn't know just exactly what to do
CHORUS
So He took a rib from Adam's side
(pull something from the side of boy on your right)
Made Miss Eve to be his bride
(point at boy on your left)
CHORUS
Put 'em in a garden wide and fair
Told 'em to "eat what you find there"
(spoken to the boy on your right)
CHORUS
Peaches, pears, plums and such
(point at kids in the audience)
But that apple tree you'd better not touch
(spoken to the boy on your right)
CHORUS
Then one day that snake he slunk
(slink around the boy on your right)
And at Miss Eve his eye he wunk
(wink at the boy on your left)
CHORUS
First she took just a little pull
(act as if pulling apple off a tree)
Then she filled her fig leaf full
(point at boy on lefts belt buckle)
CHORUS
Adam took just a little slice
(pretend to slice an apple)
Smacked his lips and said "dat's nice!"
(use the boy on your right as a prop)
CHORUS
Then one day the Lord came walking around
Spied them peelings all over the ground (point
at the ground)
CHORUS
Adam! Adam! Where art thou?
(shout)
Uh.. here I am Lord, I'm a-commin' now (use
the boy on your right as a prop)
CHORUS
Adam, who all these cores did leave?
(point at kids in the audience)
Uh.... Well I don't know for sure Lord, but it must have been Eve
(look worried, think for a minute and
come up with a brilliant idea...point at Eve)
CHORUS
Then the Lord He rose up in His wrath
Told them to beat it down that path
(point into the distance)
CHORUS
So Eve took the hoe and Adam took the plow
(point to the left and then the right)
And that's while we's all working folk now
CHORUS
Now to this tale there ain't no more
'Cause I'm the critter that ate that core
(start out after on of the kids in the crowd)
CHORUS
CHORUS
Hurrah for Mary, hurrah for the lamb
Hurrah for the teacher who couldn't give a particle
If all the lambs in Washington* came
marching into school
*use your state here
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
Mary had a little lamb, its foot was black as soot
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
And everywhere that Mary went his sooty foot he put
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
Mary had a little lamb, she put it on the shelf
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
And every time it wagged its tail it spanked its little self
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
Mary had a little lamb, she tied it in the closet
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
And every time it turned around it left a little deposit
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
Mary had a little lamb, she tied it to the heater
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
And every time it turned around it burned its little seater
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
Mary had a little lamb, she kept it very well
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
One day she fed it dynamite and blew it all to peices
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
Mary had a little lamb, but now that lamb is dead
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
She take that lamb to school once more, between two hunks of bread
Shouting out the battle cry of freedom
CHORUS
CHORUS
Away, away with rum by gum
With rum by gum, with rum by gum
Away, away with rum by gum
The song of the temperance union
We never eat cookies because they have yeast
And one little bite turns a man to a beast
Oh can you imagine a greater disgrace
Than a man in the gutter with crumbs on his face
CHORUS
We never eat fruitcake because it has rum
And one little bite turns a man to a bum
Oh can you imagine a sorrier sight
Than a man eating fruitcake until he gets tight
CHORUS
We never put shaving lotion up on our chip
'Cause osmosis lets the alchy run in
Oh can you imagine a sadder display
Than laying under the wash stand osmosed for the day
CHORUS
Verse 1 - Uhura (hand cupped to ear, listening to headphone)
There's Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow
There's Klingons on the starboard bow, scrape 'em off Jim
CHORUS
Verse 2 - Spock (stand with arms crossed in
a serious Vulcan pose)
It's life Jim, but not as we know it , not as we know it, not as we
know it
It's life Jim, but not as we know it , not as we know it, Captain
CHORUS
Verse 3 - Bones (taking pulse, very serious)
It's worse than any death Jim, death Jim, death Jim
It's worse than any death Jim, death Jim, death
CHORUS
Verse 4 - Captain Kirk (holding and using
phaser)
We come in peace, shoot to kill, shoot to kill, shoot to kill
We come in peace, shoot to kill, shoot to kill, men
CHORUS
Verse 5 - Scotty (in thick Scottish brogue)
You cannot break the laws of physics, laws of physics, laws of physics
You cannot break the laws of physics, but give me fifteen minutes
CHORUS
I'm a Thunderbird Boy Scout
A Thunderbird do or die
A real live nephew of Sir Baden-Powell
Born on the Forth of July (rah, rah, rah)
I've got my Thunderbird T-shirt
It's my Thunderbird pride and joy
Thunderbird's Geech went down once,
Never to float again
Oh I am a Thunderbird
I am a Thunderbird
I am a Thunderbird Boy Scout.
Our camps a hullabaloo, to it we will be true
Love it, you bet we do, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
And in our memory, dear to our hearts will be
Thunderbird is sure to shine, all of the time
Boyce
William Boyce troop are we, searchers of the land and sea
Better scouts you'll never see, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
West
We're the boys from James E West, you should know that we're the best
We can always pass the test, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Powell
Baden-Powell was a fighting man, cooked his grub in a frying pan
Shared it with the Thunderbird clan, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Beard
We are the Dan Beard troop, we are the hiking troop
We lead all the other troops, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Seton
We're from Ernest Thompson Seton, we declare we can't be beaten
If we are, these words we're eatin', I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Ward
We are the Red Ward crowd, of our men we are so proud
That is why we sing so loud, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Belcher
We are the Belcher tribe, and we can tan your hide
If you'll just step inside, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Kiser
We are the Kiser band, give a scout a helping hand
Help to make a scout a man, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Totten
We are the Totten troop, and we will never stoop
To any other troop, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Schmidt
Bink Schmidt campsite is so far, farther than the farthest*
star
What we really need's a car, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Walz
We're the boys from Willie Walz, we respond to nature's calls
Run the rapids, shoot the falls, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Bunyan (staff verse since the campsite was closed in 1975)
We are the Bunyan boys, we play with tinker toys
And make a lot of noise, I'm telling you boom, boom, boom
* The original wording was nearest star when I wrote this in 1975. After all, we weren't going to leave it up to boys to find a word that rhymes with Schmidt.
Well, it happened last year, and if I recall
I went to camp and I had a ball
When I got to camp I threw my gear on the bed
And as I turned around the camp director said. He said...
CHORUS
Well I dropped my stuff off and I went to the range
I looked at the dude and he looked kind of strange
Well he looked at me as I looked at him
And this is what he said as he gave me his grin. He said...
CHORUS
Well I looked at my watch and I shot a few rounds
Put away my rifle and I got off the ground
I headed for the beach and I saw I was late
The lifeguard said as I passed though the gate. He said...
CHORUS
Well this went on through the whole entire week
It was driving me crazy and it made me kinda meek
At the final assembly, there all the troops stood
As a final gift, the staff carved it into wood. It said...
CHORUS
When I got home I hugged my ma
My sister and my father and my little brother Tom
When nightfall came, my parents in their bed
I busted down the door, and this is what I said. I said...
CHORUS
(solemnly)
We live for you, we die for you
National Embalming School
We do our best to give you rest
National Embalming School
And when you die, we dig a hole
and put you in to turn to coal
We live for you, we die for you
National Embalming School
(quickly)
Post mortem! post mortem! post mortem!
Autopsy we must have!
Post mortem! post mortem! post mortem!
Autopsy we must have!
Slish-slash, cut the body,
must there be a reason?
Ooh! How that body smells!
Must be out of season!
(solemnly again)
We live for you, we die for you
National Embalming School
Someone stole my underwear, I don't care, I'll go bare
Bye, bye BVD's
I don't need them here at camp, anyway they were damp
Bye, bye BVD's
Just give me something very light and airy
So I don't get sunburned like a berry
They were always close to me, till I left them by the sea
BVD's, bye bye.
Old MacDonald had a farm, ee ie ee ie oh
And on that farm he had a home....
He's home, home on the range...
Where we'll chop down the old pine tree, timber
And we'll haul it away to the mill, whine, whine, whine
Old MacDonald had a farm, ee ie ee ie oh
And on that farm he had a dog....
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone
Oh where, oh where can he be...
He's home, home on the range...
Where we'll chop down the old pine tree, timber
And we'll haul it away to the mill, whine, whine, whine
Old MacDonald had a farm, ee ie ee ie oh
And on that farm he had a wife....
Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you
Let me hear you whisper...
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone
Oh where, oh where can he be...
He's home, home on the range...
Where we'll chop down the old pine tree, timber
And we'll haul it away to the mill, whine, whine, whine
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee ie.....
Ed ie.....
Oh.....
Council Bluff troop are we, standing high
above the sea
Honest scouts we'll always be, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Bunyan troop, and we will never
stoop
To any other troop, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Lookout troop, we are the hiking
troop
We lead the other troops, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Struan bunch, and we have got
a hunch
That we have lots of punch, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Pirates bold, brave as in the
days of old
With victories untold, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Able scouts from Buccaneer, we sill never
show our fear
So lets have a mighty cheer, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are from Sunset Trail, and we will
never fail
To hit the Scouting trail, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the White Eagles, ugh, we are the
happy lugs
We give your spirits a tug, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Hearty Viking troop are we, searchers
of the land and sea
Warriors bold we'll always be, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Brown Sea Island Scouts are we, High above
the raging sea
Meriwether! That's for me, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Meriwether Lewis was a fighting man, cooked his grub in a frying pan
Shared it with the Clatsop clan, I'm telling
you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Shoshone tribe, Sacajawea was
our guide,
Charbonneau was at her side, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Thunderbird band, ruggedest
Scouts in all the land
Ready to lend a helping hand, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Mandan tribe, and we can tan
your hide
So you just step aside, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Baden Powell is our name, Father of our
Scouting fame
We are mighty glad we came, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Pine Ridge Scouts, we love
to sing and shout
We've got spirit, there's no doubt, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
We are the Chinook tribe, fishers of the
oceanside
Pinto ponies we do ride, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Stately Totem Poles are we, upright scouts
we'll always be
A better troop you'll never see, I'm telling you, boom, boom, boom
CHORUS
Tenderfoot she taught and guided, Eagle Scout her goal
Mother of a Scouts new manhood, builder of his soul
Pledge we ever, pledge we holy, always keep thy name
Honored after in lifes struggle, craftsman of man's fame
BACKGROUND VOCAL
The prettiest girl
I ever saw
was sippin' ci-
der through a straw
CHORUS
I said to her
What you doin' that fer
Just sippin' ci-
der through a straw
CHORUS
First cheek to cheek
Then jaw to jaw
We sipped some ci-
der through a straw
CHORUS
Then all at once
That straw did slip
I sipped some ci-
der from her lips
CHORUS
That's how I got
My mother-in-law
From sippin ci-
der through a straw
CHORUS
Now forty-nine kids
All call me paw
From sippin ci-
der through a straw
CHORUS
The moral of
this little tale
Is sip your ci-
der from a pail
CHORUS