Saturday, August 15 More Songs

The '59 Lenorlog indicates that the major activity for today was War Canoe. I wrote about this unique exercise in synchronized canoeing in a past entry. But, it's interesting to note that the themes of that event in 1959, were a mirror of the innocence of the time period, as well as the pop culture of the day. The White Team's theme, was the "Old Woman and the Shoe" (With Captain, Ronnie Durchlag as the "old" woman) The Green Team went more contemporary, with Sargent Bilko as its inspiration. (Captain Bobbie Rosenheim, obviously played the role of Bilko.) As Ann Capell reported, " Both teams displayed wonderful form and sportsmanship, and the judges will certainly have a tough time determining the winner of the eight points for this event." As color war events went, this was a plum one to win, and the results would be announced at the Banquet. And, as the reality of the end of camp began to set in, there was more and more chatter about it.
The Banquet, like the Camp's Birthday also had its own unique songs... (We'd learn those soon enough...)
But," here we are", almost three quarters of the way through the summer, and there are still more songs to include. Though Lenore was about as far from a Workman's Circle Camp as you could get, many of the older songs that probably dated back to the thirties or forties had a decidedly WPA-ish feel to them, with lyrics extolling the virtues of comradeship,hard work, and unity. One of the more notable ones was "These Things Shall Be", the concluding song after Ritual, which, considering the somberness of all that preceded it, was most likely selected for its uplifing melody and tempo:

These things shall be a loftier race than 'ere the world has known shall rise!
With flame of Freedom in their souls and light of Knowledge in their eyes!
Nation with nation, land with land
Unarmed, shall live as comrades free
And every heart and soul shall throb
With the pulse of one fraternity!

Another rousing anthem, that quite literally required that we get up out of our seats on cue, was "No Common Task." When I first heard this song, I actually thought it was some sort of one word Latin phrase: "No commontas" Seriously! All through the summer of '59, that's how I sang it. And, like so many others, there were other words in the song that I botched, as well. It wasn't until the following year, when I was a song leader, that I actually learned the correct words.

No common task, is ours to praise you Camp Lenore
Best in the land, your fame has spread from shore to shore
Yo ho! Yo ho!
Forever camp of our hearts, we will be true ever more!
No common task, is ours to praise you Camp Lenore

Hearken unto the words we sing,
Holding our heads up high
Hear our voices ring,
Everyone stand up and cry: (All stand- Can you hear the rumble of all thsoe chairs?)
L-E-N-O-R-E, Camp Lenore,
We're singing to you... (repeat first verse)