Two More for the Record-Songs we may have missed

Just in case anyone's been "keeping score" of the songs I've mentioned in past entries...there are two that I'm including here that for me, represent two extremes. One, "Oh Camp Lenore" was an "old standard" (sung to the tune of "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody). Classic, Simple. Sentimental. I know it was sung at many of our final events, but I show no record of it in my Lenorlog programs. Here it is:

"Oh Camp Lenore, we sing to you once more
Our voices hushed in awe.
Ring out the praise of the glorious days.
We're true to you, saluting you,
A tribute as of yore.
Oh Camp Lenore, we sing to you again.
In each heart this refrain:
We will leave you and then, come back again.
It's not "farewell" we sing, but "Auf Wiedersehen."


The second, "The Spirit of Lenore", was a relative new-comer to our songbook. It first officially appeared in the 1960 Lenorlog Banquet edition. (No record of it in 1959. I believe we learned it on one of our outings, and upon our return, shared it with the rest of the camp.) Out of all the songs we sang, "The Spirit of Lenore" was my least favorite. Here's why:
1) It was ridiculously long, and took forever to learn and teach.
2) I totally disagreed with its premise: the idea being, Lenore had no spirit, so we literally needed hammers, beams and cables to create it.
3) It had no real ending, and it didn't really make sense. ("to keep Camp Lenore on high?')
4) It changed meters at least 4 times, making it really difficult to song-lead to. (And wouldn't you know I, along with Linda Schwartz, Denise Field and Cindy Steiner had to lead it at the Banquet in 1966. Ugh.)
5) Did I mention how long it was?

At any rate, lest anyone accuse me of the "sin of omission" here it is:
"On top of a peak our camp was built, Lenore was its name.
The architecture could not be surpassed, it brought us to building fame.
Soon our camp was completed, but something was still to be found:
Our camp was in need of spirit, so we picked up our hammers and started to pound!
We built the spirit of Lenore, and never will we let it die.
This thing we instilled only we could build.
So firm, so solid so tall!
Other builders were set to this task, but try as they may they all failed.
They didn't have the drive to keep camp alive, they didn't know what it entailed.
Bang went the hammers! Buzz went the saws! Our scaffolds they zoomed to the sky!
With beams and with cables, we knew we were able to construct a sight for anyone's eyes!
We built the spirit of Lenore, and never will we let it die.
So, watch us go, and forever you'll know
To keep Camp Lenore on high.
To keep Camp Lenore on high.

Yuk. At any rate, you be the judge...