The Songs that Stay with Us Part 2
Musical memories from the Chewonki songbook survey
There’s something about singing at Chewonki.
It’s not always polished. It’s not always in tune. But it’s real.
Over the past few months, dozens of campers, staff, alumni, and family members shared their memories through a songbook survey led by our spring intern, Piper Stagg. We received responses spanning 77 years of Chewonki experience—from the summer of 1947 to 2024—a powerful testament to the lasting impact of music in this community. Originally designed to update our Camp Chewonki songbook and create a “Chewonki Classics” playlist, the project quickly became something more: a window into the emotional terrain of Chewonki’s musical life.
These weren’t just lists of favorite songs—they were time machines. Little windows into summers past, friendships made, and feelings that stuck around. The kind of songs you find yourself humming years later without even realizing it—moments you can still hear in your head: under the campfire stars, beside a friend with a guitar, or sung softly to a child at bedtime.
“Music, like the wilderness, can touch the soul.”
That’s how one alum put it. And the more we read, the more we saw that theme: music as a force that binds people across ages and eras, that cuts through awkwardness and noise and says, you belong here.
Sometimes it’s a funny moment. Sometimes it’s transcendent. But it’s always true.
Here are just a few of the musical memories that stuck with us:
"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.
“My mom worked in the EE and Boys Camp programs when she was in her 20s. She made a cassette tape of herself singing lullabies for me and my brother. One of the songs was ‘Isle au Haut Lullaby.’ I didn’t know where it came from until my first summer on staff, when I opened the songbook and saw it there. I had just graduated from college. It was jarring and beautiful to think about being in the same place, singing the same song, at the same age.”
“I have a particularly fond memory of two pretty young kids… owls or maybe herons… performing ‘It’s Tricky’ by Run-DMC at campfire. The crowd loved it. The real highlight was watching Dick Thomas grow increasingly uncomfortable and cast ‘how did this act get through?’ looks at Scott Nagel as he heard more and more of the lyrics.”
“Boys Camp did a really good job of incorporating music, which I think was so important to show young boys that it’s not all about being tough and playing sports — you can sing songs with your friends and play instruments and be emotional because a song made you feel something.”
“I still have my 2009 Ranch House songbook. I sing from it to my 2-year-old at night.”
“Made by real people with real instruments, interacting face to face, and sharing and seeking audience participation — bringing people together in ways as essential as breaking bread at a meal.”
“This is where my life begins, this is where I learned to use my hands and hear my heart.”
“There was a counselor who played the penny whistle as he walked across campus — campers followed him like the Pied Piper. Another played harmonica and gave an impromptu masterclass at the waterfront. Campfire was always magic. I still remember when Gregg Coffin showed up to sing ‘Yellow Convertible.’”
These memories are why we sing. They’re why we’re preserving the Camp Chewonki songbook and building a “Chewonki Classics” playlist on Spotify. While copyright laws prevent us from distributing a physical songbook (as once hoped), the playlist is a joyful alternative — and a way to keep the spirit of camp songs alive.
And if you haven’t yet shared your musical memory, it’s never too late. The harmony here is ongoing.
Big thanks to Piper Stagg (Semester 68) for collecting these memories and helping shape the soundtrack of summer.
Explore Even More Memories
“I Knew This Place – It perfectly encapsulated the feeling of homecoming.”
“Roll On Columbia — we used to sing it in the dining hall on rainy days and I still remember all the words.”
“Ripple by the Grateful Dead. It was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar at camp, and it still reminds me of the woods and quiet nights there.”
“Yellow Convertible – because it’s hilarious and always made my cabin burst out laughing.”
“A Place in the Choir – it felt like the anthem for our group. Everyone had a part and a voice.”
“The Garden Song – ‘Inch by inch, row by row…’ I sang that for weeks after I got home from camp.”
“Farthest Field. I’ve sung it at so many important moments since—weddings, memorials, reunions.”
“Wagon Wheel – not because it’s a Chewonki original, but because I remember hearing it on trip with my tent group singing at full volume.”
“Simple Gifts. It’s… simple! And lovely. It’s one of the first songs I associate with Chewonki.”
“If I Had a Hammer – I remember singing this with counselors who were so cool and kind. I wanted to be like them.”
