I don’t have my own memories of summer camp, but I do have fond memories of the three-volume set of camp song CDs my mom bought for me and my siblings because she thought we were missing out on a fundamental American experience. For whatever reason, those songs are so ingrained into my brain that to this day, I can recite their lyrics from memory and burst out into a rousing campfire song with little to no prompting.
But some of those lyrics are boring and outdated — how the hell do you fix a bucket with a straw, Liza? Why did Clementine step on a mine? Who is even named John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?
There’s no time like the present for a campfire song rewrite, so I’ve taken a few of my favorites and given them some Very Polygon makeovers based on things that we here love to watch, play, read, and write about.
“There’s a Hole in My Arm”
The Fullmetal Alchemist version of “There’s a Hole in My Bucket”
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There’s a hole in my arm, dear Winry, dear Winry
There’s a hole in my arm, dear Winry, a hole
Then fix it, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
Then fix it, dear Edward, dear Edward, fix it
With what shall I fix it, dear Winry, dear Winry,
With what shall I fix it, dear Winry, with what?
With metal, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
With metal, dear Edward, dear Edward, metal
The metal’s too big, dear Winry, dear Winry
The metal’s too big, dear Winry, too big
Then cut it, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
Then cut it, dear Edward, dear Edward, cut it
How shall I cut it, dear Winry, dear Winry
How shall I cut it, dear Winry, cut it
With a hacksaw, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
With a hacksaw, dear Edward, dear Edward, a hacksaw
The hacksaw’s too dull, dear Winry, dear Winry
The hacksaw’s too dull, dear Winry, too dull
Then sharpen it, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
Then sharpen it dear Edward, dear Edward, sharpen it
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Winry, dear Winry
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Winry, with what?
With a stone, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
With a stone, dear Edward, dear Edward, a stone
The stone is outside, dear Winry, dear Winry
The stone is outside, dear Winry, outside
Then bring it inside, dear Edward, dear Edward
Then bring it inside, dear Edward, inside
How shall I carry it, dear Winry, dear Winry
How shall I carry it, dear Winry, carry it?
With your arm, dear Edward, dear Edward, dear Edward
With your arm, dear Edward, dear Edward, your arm
But there’s a hole in my arm, dear Winry, dear Winry
There’s a hole in my arm, dear Winry, a hole!
“Home, Sweet Island Home”
The Animal Crossing: New Horizons version of “Home on the Range”
Oh, give me a home, where the sea bass will roam
Where the villagers frolic and play
Where Isabelle sits, all ready to assist
And Tom Nook collects your loans today
Home, sweet island home
Where the villagers frolic and play
Where Isabelle sits, all ready to assist
And Tom Nook collects your loans today
“My Name is Spike Spiegel”
The Cowboy Bebop version of “My Name is Yon Yonson”
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My name is Spike Spiegel
My ship is the Bebop
I work as a bounty hunter
When I pull out my gun, the people I hunt say
What is your deal, man?
I say,
My name is Spike Spiegel…
“Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way”
The My Immortal version of “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt”
Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way, her name is my name too!
Whenever we go out, the people always shout
There goes Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way — tra-la-la-la-la-la!
“Chimera Ants March”
The Hunter x Hunter version of “Ants Go Marching”
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Chimera Ants march one by one, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march one by one, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march one by one,
They really like to kill for fun
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march two by two, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march two by two, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march two by two,
The cat one’s name is Neferpitou
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march three by three, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march three by three, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march three by three,
That buff one sometimes goes by Youpi
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march four by four, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The Ants go marching four by four,
Oh my God, there’s so much gore
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march five by five, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march five by five, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march five by five,
Good luck getting out of here alive
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march six by six, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march six by six, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march six by six,
Oh shit, they now can use Nen tricks
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march seven by seven, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march seven by seven,
Good golly it’s a whole procession
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march eight by eight, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march eight by eight,
Wait, why is the King just playing a game?
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march nine by nine, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march nine by nine,
It looks like they might run out of time
And they all go marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Chimera Ants march 10 by 10, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march 10 by 10, hurrah, hurrah
Chimera Ants march 10 by 10,
Alas they meet an untimely end
And they’re no longer marching down to the Selection
To conquer humanity, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“Oh My Darling Tony Stark”
The MCU version of “My Darling Clementine”
Oh my darling, oh my darling
Oh my darling, Tony Stark
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Tony Stark
In a battle, a final battle
Facing armies of the dark
Came the Avengers all to save us
Led by hero Tony Stark
Yes he stood strong, yes he stood strong
With his group of super friends
Aliens, gods, and some weird humans
All prepared to meet their ends
Oh my darling, oh my darling
Oh my darling, Tony Stark
You are lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorrow, Tony Stark
All those heroes, fighting Thanos
With their powers, big and strong
They surrounded mighty Thanos
And were about to prove him wrong
And then Thanos, mighty Thanos
He really thought that he could snap
But Tony got the gauntlet
And with his fingers, brought them back
Now he’s gone, darling Tony
With a hero’s sacrifice
He is still remembered fondly
Though he paid the biggest price
“Down by Beach City”
The Steven Universe version of “Down by the Bay”
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Down by Beach City
Where watermelon Stevens grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
“Did you ever you ever see a Pearl
With a crush on a girl?”
Down by Beach City
Down by Beach City
Where watermelon Stevens grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
“Did you ever you ever see a Garnet
That was a relationship incarnate?”
Down by Beach City
Down by Beach City
Where watermelon Stevens grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
“Did you ever you ever see a Amethyst
Ready to battle with fists?”
Down by Beach City