1972 Staff Songs

Now let me tell you a story
about a man named Larry
on a tragic and fateful day,
number 33 rang and he picked up his phone
and all his hair turned grey.

Chorus:
Will we ever get paid
no will never get paid
as the money floats away
We will rot forever in Onteora,
We're the staff that never gets paid.

Oh the double T crashed
and the double T folded
as the scouties got thrown away
Oh Hank was a-moaning and Hank was a-crying
'Will Larry take it outta of my pay.'

Now all night long Larry sits in his office
crying 'What will become of me.
DeCanio's acomin with the C&A committee
and there really gonna dump on me'

Now the staff of Onteora
don't you think its a scandal
how we have to work all day,
Fight the work increase
VOTE FOR CHARLES M. Ruiz
and get the scouties to stay away.

CHORUS
Rise and shine and give HIM your glory, glory
Rise and shine and give HIM your glory, glory
Rise and shine and (clap) give HIM your glory, glory
Scouties go away

Joe said to Larry, build me a campy, campy, (2x)
Make it muddy, rake it dampy, dampy
Scouties go away

Larry, he went and he hired him a staffee, staffee (2x)
hired the staff and gave them the shaftee, shaftee
scouties go away

The scouties they care in by troopie, troopie (2x)
Brussells sprouties and Swabodi-odiodies
scouties go away

Chiefs camp says being woodsy is lousy, lousy (2X)
but its better then Mickey Mousey mousey
scouties go away

Little Billy Harbron
runnin through the Chiefs camp
goosin up the scouties and bopping them on the head
DOWN CAME THE BIG NOKES
and he said
Little Billy Harbron I don't want to see you goosin up the scouties
and bopping then on the head
I'll give you three chances, and if you misbehave
I'll turn you into a LEEB

DOWN THE HILL
(Use hand motions, leaving off the last verse each time, etc.)

Down the hill there is a camp
From his leanto he looked out
Saw a scouty throwing rocks
one hit him In the nose
Help me, Help me Tribes he cried
From the Phantom I must hide
Won't you let me core up there
Where Its safe and woodsy

HI DILL
WHAT TIME IS IT?
It's Billy Harbron time
It's Billy Harbron time
His camps not worth a dime
It's not as good as mine
Charlies Ruiz says
Woodsy is the best
It's better then all the rest
Just put it to the test

I an a humper of the platforms
and I bust my balls all day
working all around for very little pay
I can hear the scouts a comin
and I see the ghost of Heim
For the Wichita campsite was too much this time

Now Bill is building platforms
at the rate of one nail a day
and if Bill keeps up this pace, he'll never stand the strain
And the staff is really leaving
And the staff is going away
Because the Wichita humper got shafted today

I know I need a long vacation
But it just looks like rain
and every campsite I hump into looks the same
Mrs. James say its a hernia
But Bill Harbron says there OK
and the Wichita humper got ruptured today.

I found your website when I googled my name. I was on the Tribes staff in 1971 and 1972. If you want some info on the in-jokes from the 1972 Tribes song list, here goes (my memory has faded somewhat):

Charlie Ruiz was in charge of the Tribes camp. Larry Nokes was camp director. Charlie was pretty much a cut-up, and Larry was very serious. Charlie, for some reason unknown to me, referred to Larry as "HIM". Hank must have been the waterfront director. I can't remember his last name. I don't remember of the double T dock ever crashed or folded.

I think the reference to muddy and damp refers to Hurricane Agnes, which came way up the east coast that year and kept us pretty wet when we set up camp.

Bill Harbron must have been Charlie's counterpart in Chiefs. As I recall, the rivalry between the two camps was pretty intense. We were "woodsy" and they weren't. "Dill" was Charlie's (hence our) name for Bill.

Wichita was one of the campsites. Maybe it was remote enough to be a pain to carry platforms to, or maybe it just fits the song. There's another reference to the rain from Agnes. Mrs. James was the nurse. The name "Heim" rings a bell, but I can't remember who he was.

I looked at the staff photos from 1971 and 1972. In the 1971 shot I am row 1, number 22. For 72, as best I can tell I am row 2, number 17 (next to the Indian).