The Songs that Stay with Us Part 1
Celebrating Piper Stagg and the Chewonki Songbook Project
Is there a song that instantly transports you to your cabin porch, the Dining Hall, or the shore of the salt marsh? One that brings back the laughter of campers, the smell of pine needles, or the echo of voices rising at campfire?
This spring, Piper Stagg (Semester 68, Girls Camp Staff ’23, ’24, ‘25) took on a joyful and ambitious task: collecting musical memories from across the decades—and updating the Camp Chewonki Songbook for the summer ahead. With help from campers, staff, and alumni, Piper gathered the songs that have echoed across Chewonki Neck and lingered in hearts long after. We received responses from alumni spanning 77 years of Chewonki experience, from the summer of 1947 to 2024—a remarkable testament to the lasting impact of music in this community.
"Yellow Convertible" — I’ve sung it to my kids at bedtime since they were babies.
The goal was twofold: create a refreshed songbook for campers this summer, and honor the community’s connection to camp music by curating a shared playlist. Piper’s survey invited alumni and staff to share the tunes that stuck—the ones that still give them goosebumps, still carry them back to the trail, the farm, their cabin, or a sunny afternoon paddle.
"Friend of the Devil", Grateful Dead – and "A Place in the Choir" – Simply, I loved them, and they still give me goose bumps. The way counselors and Tim Ellis used to sing them was for me a dream.
And while the original plan included sharing a downloadable “Chewonki Classics” songbook with the community, we soon realized that publishing the lyrics to many beloved songs would be a copyright issue, (with one notable exception – see below). So instead, we used Pipers work to create something just as powerful: a Chewonki Spotify playlist of camp favorites.
At Chewonki, music has always been a thread that binds the community together. It gives rhythm to our days, voice to our spirit, and memory to our moments. From morning circle to Sunday campfire, it’s how we mark time and connection.
We’re so grateful to Piper for her care, creativity, and musical spirit—and we’re excited to welcome her back this summer as part of the Girls Camp team. You can listen to the new community-curated playlist here.
Want to keep the music going? Stay tuned—we’ll be sharing more of your song memories in a follow-up blog post soon.
Oh, and wondering about that exception we mentioned? You can download the full lyrics and chords to Yellow Convertible here — a Chewonki original by former staff member David Barrington.
