I cannot believe I found this! My best friend and I learned this in choir many years ago, and no one would believe us that this song existed because it's so twisted. You made my day, LOL
hahaha! SAME THING here, mate- I was singing this song to my wife and she couldn't believe I used to sing this song in elementary school. It's sung so joyfully for such a dark song- kind of funny.
Lovin this. guess every camp had their own version. lol ours was " Mas and Pas Little girlies lost their bras lol😅😅😅❤😊 Thank you. Your is enjoyable cleaner. Bless you girls.
When I was a Girl Scout in the 70s, the verse we sang was: "Oh there was a honeymoon couple In cabin number three Who were hugging and kissing So very passionately As the iceberg hit the ship She said "Honey, kiss me quick!" It was sad when the great ship went down" Happy memories!
It’s a bit late but my camps version is Oh there was a loving couple way down in cabin 3 And they were making love oh so merrily As they neared the icy shore she said Kiss me just once more
I was a GS in Michigan in the 1970's and this was sung often at campfires. We thought nothing about how morbid it is. :) We were too innocent. Thanks for posting - good job !!!
I was a Scout in the 60s and 70s, Brownies through Cadettes (age 5-14) and learned this song also! The verses were a little different, but the chorus is almost identical. I saw other videos sung as more of slow, sad song (it is, of course) and I suppose that's where this more folksy version was modeled from. But I wanted you to know that this version has been around for awhile :) and we always enjoyed singing it. Good luck to you both!
Whether the group was Girl Scouts or Brownies, so that's where my sister learned this song and taught it to Mom and Dad. I usually think it's cute when my Dad chimed in with "all the little children lost their pants". Now almost all members sing the song, and I usually just enjoy the singing.
Thank you so much for this. We used to sing it in music class and this song has been stuck in my head for about 25 years. My wife thought I was making up how catchy and bouncy a song about people drowning was. At first I could only find the "real" version that's slower.
I went to a summer day camp back in 1980. The leader taught us this song to sing on the bus to keep us busy as we traveled. I remember loving the melody of this song. It is interesting how back then the lyrics didn’t bother us. Society is taught us to be more sensitive to these things now. For our generation it would be like somebody writing a bouncy folk song to a modern day commercial jet crash. Nobody would dare think of something so awful. But for some reason the song was acceptable 50-60 years ago. Maybe it was how people dealt with grief back then. Put your sorrows to music and let your heart sing till the pain goes away.
Camp song version, early 1960s: "It was sad when the great ship went down, to the bottom of the... Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants. It was sad when the great ship went down..."
my friend from summer camp came up with the same thing almost 60 years later, now that i’m not going to summer camp anymore, i am revisiting all the songs and adding them to a playlist
These kids are adorable and they're still just about young enough to get away with singing the spunky version. When my cousin taught me this song, in this tempo, about a hundred years ago, we sang "People drowned, uncles and aunts, little bitty children lost their pants," and then we'd fall on the floor, hysterical with laughter. Oh, don't give me a look -- it's okay when you're six.
I heard (and participating during the chorus) this only once when I was a scout during the late 80's, early 90's (too little demand to have anything beyond scouts in that area, so I became an assistants effectively for my last two years. Hey, I wanted to hit CJ 93). Recently reminded, and longing to hear the complete version, rather than the barbershop version of the chorus I had stuck in my head, it was so refreshing to hear the version I was familiar with (or close enough... I adapted by the second chorus,) once more. Thank you so much.
We sang this in the 80's at summer camp but I remember singing...Cuz the Captain got drunk and that's how it sunk, it was sad when the great ship when down, 🤣🤣
Love it! I learned this song when I was in Girl Scouts back in the late 70s-early 80s. Words are a little different,but I've been looking for it to share with my daughter's troop now. Thanks!
I remember singing this song on buses as a kid in PA> Maybe cub scouts too? But we added a "Kerplunk to the bottom of the sea", in the chorus. Lots of fun...
We sang this at camp Catalina off the coast of California for me, back in the 1980s. I am still trying to find/remember the other songs that we sang (one of them was some thing about “where the Buffalos roam,” because we used to have wild buffalos on that island that originally came there from being transported for a Hollywood movie, and we’re never taken off of it haha) . :) We used to sing the part a little bit differently for the “husbands and wives, little children lost their lives“ - we would sing it in a high pitch graduating to a low pitch at the end of it - not a constantly low pitch like you guys did.
In the 70s as Cubs we sang the version with “kerplunk it sunk like a hunk of junk” when we visited retirement homes. It upset some residents so we no longer sang it
For over 60 years we sang this version of the song around my house. It was always at big Family reunions as we had Family on the ship from England to the USA. I often wondered why no one sang this version anymore, and Thank Google I was able to find it on here. I think the first time I heard it sang by a real group was at the Newport Folk Festival back in the early 60s. Now I just have to figure out who sang it back then. DW.
I wrote a final verse for my grandchildren that tells how the lobsters in the galley tank got saved when the water rushed in and they escaped to swim home to their families. It makes it end on a happy note. They love it.
Hey young ladies ....so funny, but I started singing this song yday, having learned at my YMCA Camp Woodstock (I now live in Copake, NY)....anyways, what a treat. Happy Holidaze...
The lyrics at my camp are: Oh they built the ship titanic to sail the ocean blue and they thought they had a ship that the waters never knew but the good lord raised his hand and said this ship would never land is was sad when the great ship went down, hit the bottom! Chorus: It was sad is was sad so sad is was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the sea- children and wives little children lost their lives it was sad when the great ship went down The titanic hit an iceberg they thought they’d have iced tea but instead they all went swimming in the sea the captain tried to wire but the lines were all on Fire it was sad when the great ship went down hit the bottom! (Chorus) the captain stood on deck with a teardrop in his eye, as he waved the lifeboats a very fond goodbye he thought he’d made a slip so he went down with the ship it was sad when the great ship went hit the bottom (chorus) the moral of this story is as you plainly see is to wear a life preserver on the dark and dreary sea the titanic never made it and never more shall be it was sad when the great ship went down hit the bottom (chorus)
Remember this song from Boy Scout Camp 'Buckskin,' Brant Lake NY, summer of `77. Our version was somewhat bawdier, and more mean spirited. Most of the lyrics, in 2023, are unprintable. The part toward the end had, "Oh, they built another ship and they called it Mary-Lou They christened it with beer, but it sank right off the pier... ?something??something?, it was great when the sad ship when down, Oh, it was great (so great), it was great (so great), it was......." Then, its like, Oh, the moral of the story, is very plain to see Its to stay on land and never go to sea....
I remember when I was in Dogwood Troop 569 in Dixon, Missouri! Girl scouts was great and would love to have a reunion, but dont know where everyone has gone!
I'm another old GS and back in the day, we were not allowed to sing it at summer camp (Metamora,MI) either, mainly for the reason your example exhibits.
Wow..I remember a more condensed version of this very song when I was a child..(very long ago). it got stuck in my head so I typed some of the lyrics and here it is lol
This version of the song, with such a very fast tempo, silly playful mood, and girlish giggles, is totally new to me! It could be a substitute for such classics as "The Ants Go Marching One by One", "This Old Man", or "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"! 😀
my mom taught me this song in the bathtub many years ago... but the chorus she taught me was "uncles and aunts, little kiddies lost their pants!" I remember thinking the song was cool, but I didn't understand why kitties were wearing pants in the first place? Kept me from bugging my mom about how many people died on the Titanic lol
Some additions: They were sailing at full speed While the captain was in bed When the lookout shouted, "Iceberg straight ahead!" But it was Titanic's fate That his warning came too late It was sad when the great ship went down! The Californian lay less than seven miles away but it didn't hear distress calls for its crew had hit the hay Titanic's rockets, too were ignored by Cali's crew It was sad when the great ship went down! Oh, the moral of this story Is clear as it can be To always stay away from icebergs When you're out to sea Titanic never made it Now it's just a memory It was sad when the great ship went down!
In case you little girls dont realize it, this is a "folk song". Welcome to our world of folk music (a la Peter Paul Mary, Kingston Trio, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, et al)
I beg your pardon. You are not supposed to sing this like a happy song. It should be sung slow. And you should act a little sad. Put yourself in someone's place on that ship when it sunk and you would feel it. Just a little advice.
Put yourself in the place of a 7 or 9 year old sitting on the ground around a campfire in the dark woods, exhausted by the days events and happy for the moment (not to be thinking about spiders in the outdoor toilet or sleeping in a room full of stranger kids without access to your parents), singing catchy tunes at the top of your lungs...
I cannot believe I found this! My best friend and I learned this in choir many years ago, and no one would believe us that this song existed because it's so twisted. You made my day, LOL
We had to sin this is music class, Sending this to my BFF, We use to change husband and wives to uncles and aunts little children lost their pants.
hahaha! SAME THING here, mate- I was singing this song to my wife and she couldn't believe I used to sing this song in elementary school. It's sung so joyfully for such a dark song- kind of funny.
jo g ... same here in Canada... weird, eh? BTW... my mom didn’t like the song, because it was mocking the people who died on the Titanic.
Lovin this. guess every camp had their own version. lol ours was " Mas and Pas Little girlies lost their bras lol😅😅😅❤😊 Thank you. Your is enjoyable cleaner. Bless you girls.
When I was a Girl Scout in the 70s, the verse we sang was:
"Oh there was a honeymoon couple
In cabin number three
Who were hugging and kissing
So very passionately
As the iceberg hit the ship
She said "Honey, kiss me quick!"
It was sad when the great ship went down"
Happy memories!
That’s a version I never heard of.
@@rvpstudioscanada3991 there are an infinite number of verses
It’s a bit late but my camps version is
Oh there was a loving couple way down in cabin 3
And they were making love oh so merrily
As they neared the icy shore she said
Kiss me just once more
We sang a version of this at Camp Shawnee but they made us stop when we got too enthusiastic with the "TOO BAD" part.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one
You forgot the ending... “Kurplunk... it sunk... like a piece of junk.. to the bottom of the sea... blub... blub... blub...”
I was a GS in Michigan in the 1970's and this was sung often at campfires. We thought nothing about how morbid it is. :) We were too innocent. Thanks for posting - good job !!!
I was a Scout in the 60s and 70s, Brownies through Cadettes (age 5-14) and learned this song also! The verses were a little different, but the chorus is almost identical. I saw other videos sung as more of slow, sad song (it is, of course) and I suppose that's where this more folksy version was modeled from. But I wanted you to know that this version has been around for awhile :) and we always enjoyed singing it. Good luck to you both!
Whether the group was Girl Scouts or Brownies, so that's where my sister learned this song and taught it to Mom and Dad. I usually think it's cute when my Dad chimed in with "all the little children lost their pants". Now almost all members sing the song, and I usually just enjoy the singing.
Thank you so much for this. We used to sing it in music class and this song has been stuck in my head for about 25 years. My wife thought I was making up how catchy and bouncy a song about people drowning was. At first I could only find the "real" version that's slower.
My Grandma used to sing that song in her kitchen, back in the '60's when I was a kid. Great to hear your rendition.
The second verse is new to me. We sang the first verse..and the last... “the moral of the story...”
I went to a summer day camp back in 1980. The leader taught us this song to sing on the bus to keep us busy as we traveled. I remember loving the melody of this song.
It is interesting how back then the lyrics didn’t bother us. Society is taught us to be more sensitive to these things now. For our generation it would be like somebody writing a bouncy folk song to a modern day commercial jet crash. Nobody would dare think of something so awful.
But for some reason the song was acceptable 50-60 years ago. Maybe it was how people dealt with grief back then. Put your sorrows to music and let your heart sing till the pain goes away.
It's not supposed to be serious. It's just a fun camp song.
Camp song version, early 1960s: "It was sad when the great ship went down, to the bottom of the... Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants. It was sad when the great ship went down..."
My 90s episcopal church camp version: grandmas, grandpas, fancy ladies lost their bras, it was sad when the great ship went down 😅
my friend from summer camp came up with the same thing almost 60 years later, now that i’m not going to summer camp anymore, i am revisiting all the songs and adding them to a playlist
These kids are adorable and they're still just about young enough to get away with singing the spunky version. When my cousin taught me this song, in this tempo, about a hundred years ago, we sang "People drowned, uncles and aunts, little bitty children lost their pants," and then we'd fall on the floor, hysterical with laughter. Oh, don't give me a look -- it's okay when you're six.
I heard (and participating during the chorus) this only once when I was a scout during the late 80's, early 90's (too little demand to have anything beyond scouts in that area, so I became an assistants effectively for my last two years. Hey, I wanted to hit CJ 93). Recently reminded, and longing to hear the complete version, rather than the barbershop version of the chorus I had stuck in my head, it was so refreshing to hear the version I was familiar with (or close enough... I adapted by the second chorus,) once more.
Thank you so much.
We sang this in the 80's at summer camp but I remember singing...Cuz the Captain got drunk and that's how it sunk, it was sad when the great ship when down, 🤣🤣
Hilarious! My fond memory of the comedy version on a school bus going to camp was: "Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants..."
i remember singing this song at hidden valley camp, although the lyrics were a bit different
Love it! I learned this song when I was in Girl Scouts back in the late 70s-early 80s. Words are a little different,but I've been looking for it to share with my daughter's troop now. Thanks!
I remember singing this song on buses as a kid in PA> Maybe cub scouts too? But we added a "Kerplunk to the bottom of the sea", in the chorus. Lots of fun...
When the epic movie Titanic came out during the 1990s I was reminded of this song,which I learned at day camp at age 8.
Awesome! Sang this in camp about 1969 or 1970. Thanks for sharing.
We sang this at camp Catalina off the coast of California for me, back in the 1980s. I am still trying to find/remember the other songs that we sang (one of them was some thing about “where the Buffalos roam,” because we used to have wild buffalos on that island that originally came there from being transported for a Hollywood movie, and we’re never taken off of it haha) . :)
We used to sing the part a little bit differently for the “husbands and wives, little children lost their lives“ - we would sing it in a high pitch graduating to a low pitch at the end of it - not a constantly low pitch like you guys did.
In the 70s as Cubs we sang the version with “kerplunk it sunk like a hunk of junk” when we visited retirement homes. It upset some residents so we no longer sang it
For over 60 years we sang this version of the song around my house. It was always at big Family reunions as we had Family on the ship from England to the USA. I often wondered why no one sang this version anymore, and Thank Google I was able to find it on here. I think the first time I heard it sang by a real group was at the Newport Folk Festival back in the early 60s. Now I just have to figure out who sang it back then. DW.
I wrote a final verse for my grandchildren that tells how the lobsters in the galley tank got saved when the water rushed in and they escaped to swim home to their families. It makes it end on a happy note. They love it.
I like that :)
Well, let's hear it! Sounds like just the thing a coastal Rhode Islander like me would sing.
this song has been stuck in my head since i went to camp addison boyce in 2009. i can’t believe i finally found this
Hey young ladies ....so funny, but I started singing this song yday, having learned at my YMCA Camp Woodstock (I now live in Copake, NY)....anyways, what a treat. Happy Holidaze...
Thx we only had 2 and a half days to work on it. Thx sooo much Turtle she's a lift saver or I guess in this case a skit saver.
The lyrics at my camp are: Oh they built the ship titanic to sail the ocean blue and they thought they had a ship that the waters never knew but the good lord raised his hand and said this ship would never land is was sad when the great ship went down, hit the bottom! Chorus: It was sad is was sad so sad is was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the sea- children and wives little children lost their lives it was sad when the great ship went down
The titanic hit an iceberg they thought they’d have iced tea but instead they all went swimming in the sea the captain tried to wire but the lines were all on Fire it was sad when the great ship went down hit the bottom! (Chorus) the captain stood on deck with a teardrop in his eye, as he waved the lifeboats a very fond goodbye he thought he’d made a slip so he went down with the ship it was sad when the great ship went hit the bottom (chorus) the moral of this story is as you plainly see is to wear a life preserver on the dark and dreary sea the titanic never made it and never more shall be it was sad when the great ship went down hit the bottom (chorus)
I can't believe we sang this song but we did! Over and over and over!
Remember this song from Boy Scout Camp 'Buckskin,' Brant Lake NY, summer of `77. Our version was somewhat bawdier, and more mean spirited. Most of the lyrics, in 2023, are unprintable. The part toward the end had,
"Oh, they built another ship and they called it Mary-Lou
They christened it with beer, but it sank right off the pier...
?something??something?, it was great when the sad ship when down,
Oh, it was great (so great), it was great (so great), it was......."
Then, its like,
Oh, the moral of the story, is very plain to see
Its to stay on land and never go to sea....
There’s a few different versions of this campfire story and they’re all very interesting from the one we learned when we were young
I remember when I was in Dogwood Troop 569 in Dixon, Missouri! Girl scouts was great and would love to have a reunion, but dont know where everyone has gone!
I was in brownies in 70s and guides in late 70s and we sang this . I’m Canadian. It ended with “it sunk what a lousy piece of junk , the end, amen.”
I'm another old GS and back in the day, we were not allowed to sing it at summer camp (Metamora,MI) either, mainly for the reason your example exhibits.
We added "it was sad when the great ship went down
way down
kerplunk
i'm sunk"
to the end of the chorus
Wow..I remember a more condensed version of this very song when I was a child..(very long ago). it got stuck in my head so I typed some of the lyrics and here it is lol
So glad you put this on TH-cam. I haven't heard this since camp in the 90s! Oh sweet nostalgia!
I like the variation you've put in on the 'Husband and Wives line'. That's a nice touch.well done.
This version of the song, with such a very fast tempo, silly playful mood, and girlish giggles, is totally new to me! It could be a substitute for such classics as "The Ants Go Marching One by One", "This Old Man", or "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"! 😀
my mom taught me this song in the bathtub many years ago... but the chorus she taught me was "uncles and aunts, little kiddies lost their pants!"
I remember thinking the song was cool, but I didn't understand why kitties were wearing pants in the first place? Kept me from bugging my mom about how many people died on the Titanic lol
My mother taught me this song! was never a girl scout but she was in the 60's!!!
Thank you sooooo much for posting this! Memories! Hugs girls! 😊
i remember the version i had had a verse with "Though it was years ago, one thing stays the same, that if youre rich you should not be so vain"
Really well done! I am not a scout but Civil War reenactor, also love traditional songs!
Great Job Ladies! Go Girl Scouts!
My mom used to sing this song to me. It was a slower, and not so uplifting though.
haven't heard this song in about 100 years
Oh, The Californ-I-A, not a hundred miles away,Did not hear the SOS, for the crew had hit the hay...
additional send off at end of song: "it sunk, ker plunk, to the bottom, of the sea.. (all I can remember)
Some additions:
They were sailing at full speed
While the captain was in bed
When the lookout shouted,
"Iceberg straight ahead!"
But it was Titanic's fate
That his warning came too late
It was sad when the great ship went down!
The Californian lay
less than seven miles away
but it didn't hear distress calls
for its crew had hit the hay
Titanic's rockets, too
were ignored by Cali's crew
It was sad when the great ship went down!
Oh, the moral of this story
Is clear as it can be
To always stay away from icebergs
When you're out to sea
Titanic never made it
Now it's just a memory
It was sad when the great ship went down!
This was a camp song...WOW.....
I go to camp Juliet low and we still sing this song I LOVE IT❤️ just wanted to share😂❤️
I sing that in choirs
I played this in protest of the Tennessee TITANics beating the New York Jets!
At a summer camp I went to, instead of saying sea, we spelled out ocean and made the letters in YMCA style.
I remember singing this at camp Sarsaparilla.
Well I just have one thing to say HAPPY 100 YEARS GIRL SCOUTS!!!!!
haha my troop should do this at our next service unit campout as a skit!
Wow this version is a bit different than we sing at the YMCA.
at my camp we sang this song in a much faster pace
so good!
It's a Woody Guthrie song. I learned it in GS in the early 70s but we're never so cavalier and enthusiastic about people dying.
I remember it specifically as the song that had, like, forty verses 😂
I thought the captain was one of the first people to leave the ship and people got really mad cause the captain is supposed to go down with the ship
I learned this 55 years ago as a campfire girl....
Beat ya: 62 years ago (1961) on a school bus going to camp!
we have something similar at my boyscout camp in missouri
I learned this version.
I'm doing this as a skit with my girl scout group at stony brook. Go PAIT's
Not Girl Scouts, but CUB scouts for me
We learned this song at drama camp
i love this song
i sing to if you like look my side,.
ker plunk. it sunk. like a hunk a junk
USING THIS NEXT YEAR AT CAMP
troop 84126 MD
Lol
this is a boy scout song too
don't be rude
HIT THE BOTTOM!!!
this is a little different than what my teacher sings it's me Jeanette Ortiz's daughter
Same but camp woodhaven
i sang that! :/
I was a Girl Scout I don't remember this song
I don't think they sing it as much anymore, we definitely did in the 80s
Wong
In case you little girls dont realize it, this is a "folk song".
Welcome to our world of folk music (a la Peter Paul Mary, Kingston Trio, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, et al)
LOL
We sang this constantly at Girl Scouts. I hated it.It made me so sad.everybody else thought it was funny.
Nobody would be saved 50-100 years later, so let loose and just have fun singing goofy, satirizing camp songs!
I was 8 it was 1959.
It sounds happy to me, not "sad." People losing their lives is not a happy thing.
Can't believe you find this funny
My English teacher can do it better.
Sooooo bad sorry
+Uwe Buck Sooooo sorry you don't like it maybe get some new ears?
I beg your pardon. You are not supposed to sing this like a happy song. It should be sung slow. And you should act a little sad. Put yourself in someone's place on that ship when it sunk and you would feel it. Just a little advice.
Put yourself in the place of a 7 or 9 year old sitting on the ground around a campfire in the dark woods, exhausted by the days events and happy for the moment (not to be thinking about spiders in the outdoor toilet or sleeping in a room full of stranger kids without access to your parents), singing catchy tunes at the top of your lungs...
That's the wrong tune and rythm just sayin
+Melissa Kelly Welcome to folk music, Melissa.
+Melissa Kelly That's probably the way they learned it. There is allowed to be different versions.... just saying
Lol