20 Favorite Campfire Songs for Kids

Miners camp in Colorado

The campfire is the heart of the camping experience. There you are, in the woods, under a starry sky, surrounded by your favorite people. It just makes sense to burst into song!

With kids, singing in a group doesn't always happen naturally. The trick to piquing their interest is to choose songs they sort of know—ones with repetitive choruses, so they can sing along. And a lot of the songs should be fun, too. 

Our list is pretty dorky, but these happen to be the songs our kids are willing to to sing, and that's good enough for us!

1. This Land Is Your Land

Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

What's more fitting than this old folk song when you're camping in one of our beautiful national parks? We had an illustrated book of this song, and our oldest kid memorized the whole thing, even the last couple of verses that don’t exactly scan, so we sing the whole darn thing.

Chorus:

This land is your land  This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood 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.

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I 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.

Chorus

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

Chorus

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

Chorus

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Chorus

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

Chorus

2.  You're a Grand Old Flag

by George M. Cohan

A short one that’s easy to learn.

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.

3. I Like Bananas

One from Pete’s childhood. He taught the kids this when they were really little. For some reason they never get tired of it.

This is to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, sort of. (“My eyes have seen the glory …”)

I like bananas, coconuts, and grapes!

I like bananas, coconuts, and grapes!

I like bananas, coconuts and grapes!

That's why they call me (yelling) Tarzan of the Apes!

Repeat many, many times.

4. My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Traditional Scottish Folk Song

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

Chorus:

Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me

Last night as I lay on my pillow
Last night as I lay on my bed
Last night as I lay on my pillow
I dreamt that my Bonnie was dead

Chorus

Oh blow the winds o'er the ocean
And blow the winds o'er the sea
Oh blow the winds o'er the ocean
And bring back my Bonnie to me

Chorus

The winds have blown over the ocean
The winds have blown over the sea
The winds have blown over the ocean
And brought back my Bonnie to me

5. Hey-Ho Nobody Home

Traditional English song probably dating back to the 1600’s, usually sung by Christmas carollers.

  

Hey ho, nobody home

Meat nor drink nor money have I none

Yet I will be merry

Hey ho, nobody home

Repeat a lot.

6. The Happy Wanderer also known as Valderi, Valdera

Words and music by Friedrich W. Möller and Antonia Ridge

We sang this with our grade school music teacher, Mrs. Zades, in the all-purpose room at Scarborough School. We liked  the laughing part of the chorus and she let us get a little crazy when we sang it.

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-der-ri, val-der-ra

Val-der-ra, val-der-ha ha ha ha ha ha

Val-der-ri, val-der-ra

(My knapsack on my back) – repeat last line of each verse with chorus

I wave my hat to all I meet

And they wave back at me

And blackbirds call so loud and clear

From every greenwood tree

Chorus

Oh, may I go a-wandering

Until the day I die

And may I always laugh and sing

Beneath God's clear blue sky

Chorus

7. I'm a Nut
The origins of this song are unknown but it goes back to at least the 40’s, so maybe vaudeville.

Everybody sings this a little bit differently - this is how I learned it.

I'm a little acorn round

Sitting on the cold cold ground

Everybody steps on me

That is why I'm cracked you see

I'm a nut (tsk tsk), in a rut (tsk tsk), I'm crazy

Called myself on the telephone

Just to see if I was home

Took myself to the picture show

Sat myself in the very first row

Wrapped my arms around my waist

Got so fresh I slapped my face!

I'm a nut (tsk tsk), in a rut (tsk tsk), I'm crazy

8. Molly Malone, also known as Cockles and Mussels
Popular Irish tune from the 1800s.

In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus:

Alive, alive, Oh!

Alive, alive, Oh!

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

She was a fishmonger, but it sure was no wonder,

For so were her father and mother before,

And they each pushed their wheel barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus

She died of a fever, and no one could save her,

And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone;

Her ghost wheels her barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, Oh!

Chorus

9. Daisy

Words and Music by Henry Dacre, 1892

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.
I'm half crazy all for the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage;
But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built
for two.

Henry, Henry, this is my answer true:
I'm not crazy over the likes of you.
If you can't afford a carriage,
Forget about the marriage;
I won't be jammed,
I won't be crammed
On a bicycle built for two.

10. Edelweiss

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein

A number from The Sound of Music. It comes across as a real traditional song, though, and some people think it is.

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever.

11. On Top of Spaghetti

 

This annoying song makes my kids laugh, so we sing it.

On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze.

A young Pete Seeger

12. Oh Suzannah

Written by Stephen Foster in 1847 for minstrel shows.  Makes you think twice, doesn’t it?

I came from Alabama

With my banjo on my knee

I'm going to Louisiana

My true love for to see

It rained all night the day I left

The weather it was dry

The sun so hot I froze to death

Suzannah don't you cry

Oh Suzannah, oh don't you cry for me

I've come from Alabama

With a banjo on my knee

13.  Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Unknown, late 1800’s. This is said to be about the Underground Railroad. Did you know that?

Chorus:
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Comin' for to carry me home;
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Comin' for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan,
And WHAT did I see,
Comin' for to carry me home,
A band of angels comin' after me,
Comin' for to carry me home.

Chorus

If you get there before I do,
Comin' for to carry me home,
Tell all my friends I'm comin' too,
Comin' for to carry me home.

Chorus

14. Two Dead Boys

Probably British. “Songs of impossibilities” were popular in England in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

One bright day in the middle of the night,

Two dead boys got up to fight,

Back to back the faced each other,

Drew their swords and shot each other.

A deaf police man heard the noise,

So he came and shot those two dead boys.

If you don't believe this lie is true,

Ask the blind man he saw too.

15. Boa Constrictor
by Shel Silverstein. Peter, Paul and Mary sang it!

To the tune of “John Brown’s Baby”, sort of.

I'm being eaten my a boa constrictor,

A boa constrictor, a boa constrictor

I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor

And I don't like it one bit

Oh no he’s up to my toe

Oh gee he's up to my knee

Oh my he's up to my thigh

Oh darn he's up to my arm

Oh heck he's up to my neck

Oh gee he's eaten me!!

16. Home on the Range

Words by Dr. Brewster M. Higley, melody by Daniel E. Kelley. Late 1800’s.

The chorus always makes me think of dogs howling. 

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,

Where the deer and the antelope play,

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Chorus:

Home, home on the range,

Where the deer and the antelope play,

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Where the air is so pure, and the zephyrs so free,

The breezes so balmy and light,

That I would not exchange my home on the range,

For all of the cities so bright.

Chorus

The Red man was pressed from this part of the west,

He's likely no more to return,

To the banks of the Red River where seldom if ever

Their flickering campfires burn.

Chorus

How often at night when the heavens are bright,

With the light from the glittering stars,

Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed,

If their glory exceeds that of ours.

Chorus

Oh, I love these wild flowers in this dear land of ours,

The curlew I love to hear cry,

And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks,

That graze on the mountain slopes high.

Chorus

Oh give me a land where the bright diamond sand,

Flows leisurely down in the stream;

Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along,

Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

Chorus

Then I would not exchange my home on the range,

Where the deer and the antelope play;

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Chorus

Woody Guthrie

17. Why, Oh Why
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

  

Why can't a dish break a hammer?
Why oh why oh why?!
'Cause a hammer's a hard head.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why, oh why, oh why oh, why?
Why, oh why, oh why?
Because because because because
Goodbye goodbye goodbye

Why can't a bird eat an elephant?
Why, oh why, oh why?
'Cause an elephant's got a pretty hard skin.
Goodby goodbye goodbye.

Why can't a mouse eat a streetcar?
Why, oh why, oh why?
'Cause a mouse's stomach could never get big enough to hold a streetcar.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why does a horn make music?
Why, oh why, oh why?
Because the horn-blower blows it.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye

Why does a cow drink water?
Tell me why n why?
Because the cow gets thirsty just like you or me or anybody else.
Goodye goodbye goodbye.

Why don't you answer my questions?
Why, oh why, oh why?
'Cause I don't know the answers.
Goodby goodbye goodbye.

What make the landlord take money?
Why, oh why, oh why?
I don't know that one myself.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why's there no pennies for ice cream
Why, oh why, oh why?
You put all the pennies in the telephone.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why can't a rabbit chase an eagle?
Tell me why, oh why?
'Cause the last rabbit that took out and chased after an eagle didn't come
out so good and that's why rabbits don't chase after eagles that's all I
know about rabbits and eagles?

Because because because.

Why, oh why, oh why?
Same reason your dad's not your mommy.
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

Why couldn't the wind blow backwards?
Why, oh why, oh why?
'Cause it might backfire and hurt somebody and if it
hurt somebody it'd keep on hurting them
Goodbye goodbye goodbye.

18.  Michael, Row the Boat Ashore

This is an African-American spiritual from around the time of the civil war.

Chorus:

Michael, row the boat ashore, hallelujah.
Michael, row the boat ashore, hallelujah.

Michael's boat is a music boat, hallelujah
Michael's boat is a music boat, hallelujah 

Chorus

Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah
Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah 

Chorus

Jordan's River is deep and wide, hallelujah.
Meet my mother on the other side, hallelujah.

Chorus

Jordan's River is chilly and cold, hallelujah.
Chill's the body, but not the soul, hallelujah.

Chorus

19. Hobo’s Lullaby
Words and Music by Gobel Reeves

Woody Guthrie sang this pretty song a lot.

Go to sleep, you weary hobo
Let the towns drift slowly by
Can't you hear the steel rails humming
That's the hobo's lullaby

Don't you worry about tomorrow
Let tomorrow come and go
Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar
Safe from all the wind and snow

I know the police cause you trouble
They cause trouble everywhere
But when you die and go to heaven
There'll be no policemen there

I know your clothes are torn and ragged
And your hair is turning gray
Lift your head and smile at trouble
You'll find peace and rest some day

So go to sleep, you weary hobo
Let the towns drift slowly by
Can't you hear the steel rails humming
That's the hobo's lullaby

20. Goodnight, Irene

Words and Music by Huddie Ledbetter
(Check out The Weavers singing Goodnight, Irene here.)

Chorus:

Irene goodnight,
Irene goodnight.
Goodnight, Irene, goodnight, Irene,
I'll see you in my dreams.

Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in town.
Sometimes I take a great notion
To jump into the river and drown.

Chorus

I asked your mother for you,
She told me you was too young.
I wish to God I'd never seen your face,
I'm sorry you ever was born.

Chorus

You caused me to weep, you caused me to mourn,
You caused me to leave my home.
But the very last words I heard her say,
Was please sing me one more song.

Chorus

When the kids hear “Goodnight, Irene,” they’re pretty much ready for bed. Then we tuck them in and proceed to round two: campfire songs for grownups! Cue the Hall & Oates.

What about you? What are some of your favorite campfire songs?


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