Super Troop | One Girl Scout Tradition | Songs

Super Troop

Super Troop Highlight

Four Badges or Other Earned Awards One Girl Scout Tradition

Songs

Group singing is a fun and meaningful Girl Scout tradition! Use songs in Bridging ceremonies, community service, as a planned activity during campouts, or as behavior management help in troop meetings. Energetic action songs help bring the energy up. Slow, sweet songs help bring the energy down. Not everyone thinks of themselves as a singer and that’s ok! No matter your singing skill, stand up and lead with enthusiasm to strengthen troop bonds with the comradery of group singing!

Check out the song leader tips here, and then search your favorite Girl Scout sites and social media groups for more songs to add to your repertoire!

Are you a Girl Scout Alum? Be prepared for regional and council differences in lyrics and tunes, and discover the council favorites wherever you live.

The Brownie Smile Song

One well-known Girl Scout song is unique to Brownies, who love to sing. Share this handout to teach it to second- and thirdgrade Brownie Girl Scouts.

Song Leader Tips

Choosing Songs

• Consider the group that you will be working with. How old are they? How many girls? What are their singing abilities? What are their song interests? How long is their attention span?

• Begin with simple songs or songs that the girls know. Choose songs that are simple, like short rounds, repeatafter-me songs, or songs with choruses.

• Practice ahead of time. Know the words and the melody. Use notes if you need them. Make a list of the songs you will sing and the order you will sing them. Share the history or the story of the song with the girls.

• Consider time and tone. If you are choosing songs for an evening program, start out with rowdy songs and end with quiet songs to set the tone for bedtime.

• Choose a variety of songs. Choose songs that are fast and slow, songs that include hand motions, simple songs, and funny songs. Avoid songs that might be offensive.

Teaching Songs

• Be enthusiastic! When you’re having fun, the girls want to join in! Encourage the group to listen to each other to produce a beautiful sound.

• Introduce the song. Name the song, where it’s from, and what it’s about. Sing the rst verse and the chorus so the girls know how it sounds.

• Teach the song by phrases. Sing a phrase, and have the group sing back to you. Then repeat once or twice with longer phrases joined together until you’re singing the verse and chorus.

• Give the starting note. Hum the melody or use a musical instrument. If you get it wrong, stop and start over. Avoid pitching too high or too low for girls.

• Use hand motions to keep the beat. Hand motions can be used to keep the group together at the right tempo and let the girls know where they are in the song.

• Sing the song parts separately, then together. If singing a round, a song with parts, or a descant, make sure each group knows its part well before putting the parts together. Assign a song leader who knows the part to each small group.

GSLE works with singing!

• Discover. Share camp songs, school songs, national songs and others to make comparisons. What is alike and different, cultural, traditional, patriotic, etc.

• Connect. By singing together, girls connect their voices with others to make music. They connect to the sisterhood of Girl Scouts worldwide by learning songs and their histories.

• Take Action. Singing is a way to communicate values, passions, community, history. Leading songs and teaching them to others is a way to share with the community.

• Girl Led. Girls take turns leading songs for the troop. Girls can create song lists for various activities, negotiating and reaching consensus on their choices.

• Cooperative Learning. Girls learn to listen for others’ voices and be part of a music-making group. Coach the girls that it’s not a competition to see who can sing the loudest.

• Learn by Doing. The only way to learn to sing is to SING!

Songs

Boom Chicka Boom

Make New Friends

Scan the QR code for YouTube video Scan

This is a call and repeat song, or “This is a Repeat After Me Song.” These songs are great for building energy and for spending energy! In outdoor spaces, girls can yell at the top of their lungs or sing while they’re hiking. They’re easy for our littlest girls to learn quickly. They’re inclusive because all girls can participate immediately even if they’ve never sung the song before. This song is fun and creative because you can introduce any lyric “style” you want, at any speed or any volume. Try race-car-driver style (zoom chicka zoom), laughing style (just laugh through the whole thing), too-muchsugar style (sing as fast as possible), underwater style (put your index nger horizontal on your lips and go up and down while speaking), or anything else you make up!

Lyrics: This is a Repeat After Me song!

I said a-boom chicka boom!

I said a-boom chicka boom!

I said a-boom chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka boom!

Oh yeah, Uh-huh, One more time, A little bit ( ll in the blank…faster, slower, louder, or name a style)

This is the classic Girl Scout song, typically sung at the end of troop meetings while the troop stands in a Friendship Circle. Most troops sing just the rst and second verses but there are many verses to add as the girls mature to remember more lines.

Lyrics: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.

A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I want to be your friend.

A re burns bright, it warms the heart. We’ve been friends from the very start.

You have one hand, I have the other. Put them together we have each other.

Silver is precious, gold is too. I am precious and so are you.

You help me, and I’ll help you and together we will see it through.

The sky is blue, the Earth is green I can help to keep it clean.

Across the land, across the sea Friends forever we will always be.

Scan

This song has strong connections to the friendships built at summer camp. This is quiet, winding-down song perfect for the end of a great day with Girl Scout friends.

Lyrics: MMM...I want to linger, MMM...A little longer, MMM...A little longer here with you.

MMM...It’s such a perfect night, MMM...It doesn’t seem quite right, MMM...That this should be my last with you.

MMM...And come September, MMM…I will remember, MMM…My camping days and friendship true.

MMM...And as the years go by, MMM…I’ll think of you and sigh, MMM...This is goodnight and not good-bye.

I’m Being Eaten By a Boa Constrictor!

the QR code for

YouTube

This song uses hand motions to help girls follow along. It has a bigger vocabulary so it’s a good match for older girls. Add or take away lines to match the group’s attention span.

Lyrics:

Oh, I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor, I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor, I’m being eaten by a boa constrictor, I DON’T LIKE IT VERY MUCH!

Oh no, It’s nibblin’ my toe.

Oh, gee, It’s up to my knee.

Oh my, It’s up to my thigh.

Oh, ip, It’s up to my hip.

Oh, ddle, It’s up to my middle.

Oh, yes, it’s up to my chest.

Oh, boulder, it’s up to my shoulder.

Oh, heck, It’s up to my neck.