Five Great Songs For Blue and Gold Banquet

February is the month we celebrate the anniversary of scouting. Most cub scout packs celebrate by having a Blue and Gold Banquet. Music can be an important and fun part of the Blue and Gold program. Here, I have chosen just a few songs that might help you in planning the music portion of your program.

Before I share the songs with you, let me give you a few tips on leading the singing.

1. It helps to have an accompanist on either guitar or piano. I know that most scout groups just sing acapella. Actually, some songs sound really great without accompaniment. But I think an accompaniment adds a lot to most songs. Find someone who plays guitar and get them the music a few days or weeks ahead of time and let them know what you want to do.
2. Have fun! Get a little bit silly with the silly songs! Young boys love to be silly, and they love it even more if an adult can be silly with them. It takes patience, love and determination, but it is worth it. Of course, you don’t want them swinging from the rafters, so a certain amount of control is still needed.
3. Movement songs are great because the kids get to move around. Songs like “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It” fit the bill nicely.
4. Songs that draw upon the participants creativity are also lots of fun. “Jenny Jenkins”, “There Ain’t No Bugs On Me” and “Chumbara” are excellent. Kids have to come up with words to create new verses, and they are easy to do.
5. If the mood is right, close with something like “Taps”. It kind of brings the group back into focus.

Here are some of the songs that I would do:

My Bonnie:

This is a good song to get the boys moving. Whenever you sing the letter “B”, you go back and forth between sitting and standing. For example: My Bonnie (stand) lies over the ocean, My Bonnie (sit) lies over the sea, My Bonnie (stand) lies over the ocean. O, Bring (sit) Back (stand) my Bonnie (sit) to me.

Bring (stand) Back (sit), Bring (stand) Back (sit), O Bring (stand) Back (sit) my Bonnie (stand) to me, to me. Bring (stand) Back (sit), Bring (stand) Back (sit), O Bring (stand) Back (sit) my Bonnie (stand) to me.

I like to go faster each time we sing it.

If You’re Happy and You Know It:

When you’re ready for some movement, this is fun to do. In the Great American Campfire Songbook, I have written three verses for you to sing, but you can come up with more on your own. If you cant think of any, the kids can probably help you out.

Chumbara:

Chumbara is a folk song from Canada and it is one 3-syllable word over and over again. To make up new verses, just use any 3-syllable word. Names, places and foods are good words to use, like: E-mi-ly, or spa-ghet-ti, or blue-ber-ry or pi-a-no. You can experiment and use 2, 4 or more syllable words. The nice thing about these songs is that you can try anything you want!

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean:

You need to be sitting for this song. Whenever you come to a b, you either stand up or sit down, going back and forth between sitting and standing.

Taps:

This is a nice, peaceful song to end on. It uses the melody of the bugle call ‘Taps’. You can find the lyrics, music and chords in The Great American Songbook. You can also find just the lyrics by Googling ‘Taps’.

Of course, there are tons more songs you could use; these are just some of my suggestions. Good luck and have a great Blue and Gold!