MSPP #37: Cats In The Cradle

The year was 1997. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 were nearing the end of their second Laughs For Lunch Show. They were about to do something they had never done before. The piano was brought onto the stage, along with the electric guitar. The scoutmaster explained it was time for something a little more serious, something different from the rest of the show. One Scout began playing the guitar. Then the piano joined in. During the song the Scouts walked out onto the stage in groups of three or four. Before the song was finished every Boy Scout of Troop 68 was on the stage. Parents were crying in the audience. Emotions were running high.

Somehow, the troop had pulled it off. And with only one practice.

I will never forget that performance. It was the last year Tom and Nathan would be with the troop. Both would be graduating from high school in the spring and moving away to college. I wanted to do something special with them during the show. Tom was a excellent pianist, one of the best in the state of Minnesota. Nathan was great on the electric guitar. I wanted to do something in the Laughs For Lunch Show that would bring these talents to the stage. A regular campfire song would not be good enough. We needed something better.

The rock band Ugly Kid Joe had recently released their version of the Harry Chapin classic song Cats In The Cradle. I love the song and thought this could be the right one to bring Tom and Nathan's talents to the stage with the rest of the troop. The two young men agreed, and so did the troop. We threw around a few ideas about how to perform it and came up with something we thought would work well.

Unfortunately, we only had time to practice it once, the afternoon before we held the show.

The show was coming to a close. Some of the skits and songs had gone very well, some could have used a little more practice. I was getting nervous as the time for Cats In The Cradle drew near. Usually performing during a campfire program does not bother me much, but then, most campfire songs and skits are designed to be a bit silly. This song needed to be done seriously. This was not a time for mistakes. And worse of all, I would be the lead singer.

Let me state at this time that I will never be chosen to be on American Idol.

The grand piano was on the stage. The electric guitar was plugged in. The music began. The youngest Scouts began walking onto stage. As the song progressed the older Scouts joined the younger ones on the floor in front of the piano. Before I knew it, it was over. The whole troop was smiling on stage as the crowd was clapping and cheering. The audience loved it. Parents, especially mothers, were crying. The song had hit a nerve and they realized their boys were growing up and would soon move away.

Until then, I had not experienced the power that could be reached while on stage. Never before had I or the Scouts received such an emotional response from an audience. Usually, we did the skit or song and hoped we did it well enough to receive some laughter or clapping as the response. The Cats In The Cradle performance showed us we could accomplished even more.

I have wanted to post this video online for a couple years but did not have a digital version of it. This weekend I finally found some time to copy it to my computer. Now I can share it with all of you. I do not think the video has quite the impact that the live version of it did, but it still turned out well. It does show another side of the Scouts that usually is not seen at a campfire program. I hope you enjoy it. (I apologize ahead of time for the quality of the vhs video, and for my average vocal talent.)

Please leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from you. You can leave one here, or at the PTC media forums. If you leave a comment at the iTunes Music Store you will help the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast climb higher in the ratings.

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The Scout Law song

Would you like to listen to something a little different about Scouting. In particular, the Scout Law? A little song that just might stick with you for awhile?

A group called the Croutons, a duo from Arizona, has recorded a song called The Scout Law, and it actually is about the Scout Law. The song uses the Scout Law as its refrain. The three verses cover the meaning of each of the twelve points. From bit and pieces that I have found on the internet, it appears the the Croutons have been performing this song as part of their act for at least five years. (I have not listened to their other music yet, so I am not sure if their other songs are family appropriate.)

I like the The Scout Law. Oh, it is not going to win a Grammy, and it is not going to earn a million dollars for the two guys, especially since the song is a free download online. But it has a good beat, and it is just silly enough to be fun.

You can download the song (for free) at music.download.com by clicking HERE. After you listen to it leave a comment on how you liked it, or did not like it.

MSPP #36: Vista!

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts seem to really enjoy a good campfire program. But so do adult Scout leaders. Sometimes, the adults even enjoy performing for the campfire audience. Really. I am not kidding.

This entry to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast demonstrates that adults can have fun during a campfire program too. This video clip was taken from Troop 68's annual Laughs For Lunch Show of 2002. It features the troop's scoutmaster bringing some of his adult Scouting friends on stage to perform the song Vista! One of the friends does very well. One cheats. And a couple have a hard time keeping up when things get going fast.

I challenge you to try this song at your next campfire program. It may take a little practice but the audience will love it. By the way, you can find the words (at least the way I learned it) on our troop's website by clicking HERE. " Yip bap biddildee bang!"

I like to read your comments about this podcast. You can leave one here, or at the PTC media forums. If you leave a comment at the iTunes Music Store you will help the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast climb higher in the ratings.

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MSPP #33: The Bad Luck Song

After a few days of thought, I have decided to leave the G rated world of Buttons and Boy Scouts skits behind with this podcast post, and enter the PG world music. Oh, do not worry, there will not be any Guns & Roses music or rap nonsense here. What I offer in this podcast is an original song by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68.

This video is of three older Scouts of Troop 68 in 1992, taken from a television show made by the troop for our local community access station. The Scout playing the guitar (he earned the rank of Eagle, by the way) wrote the melody. I wrote the lyrics. The song contains three verses with dark undertones. The first verse is about a pathetic dog. The second is of a boyfriend trying to please his girlfriend. The third is about a stray animal following a person home. I would suggest you listen to it before allowing your Cub Scout aged son to listen to it. The song is dark, but somewhat comical. It also might stick in your mind for awhile.

The song does not contain any bad language. This is a Scouting podcast, after all. I just wanted to try something different this time. I hope you enjoy it.

I like to read your comments about this podcast. You can leave one here, or at the PTC media forums. If you leave a comment at the iTunes Music Store you will help the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast climb higher in the ratings.

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MSPP #29: The Song Never Ends

What is the main reason that boys join Scouting? Is it to earn advancement? Probably not. Is it to learn how to tie knots? I doubt it. Do they join to learn to skills? Maybe, but I do not think that is the real reason. Do they join Scouting to have fun? Bingo! Give the man a cigar.

Boy Scouts like to have a good time, even more then adults do. When they are with their friends they can sometimes get downright silly. That is what happened on fall camping trip in 2003. While sitting around the Saturday night campfire a few members from the Hawks Patrol thought it would be funny to sign the "Song That Never Ends". And it didn't. For nearly twenty minutes they kept signing the song, with other Scouts joining in as the minutes added up.

A Scout had a "great" idea. Wouldn't this be a great joke/song to sign during the troop's annual Laughs for Lunch Show? The audience would not know what to think. I know what they audience would think, I thought to myself. They will think the Scouts have gone mad.

When the time came to plan the show's agenda a few months later I thought that maybe they would forget about this song that never ends. They did not. In fact, they decided to open the show with the song. A few Scouts wanted to sign it for fifteen minutes, like they did around the campfire. I vetoed that idea, however, we came up with a plan to sign it for a few minutes and then remove the Scouts one by one from the stage, to give the impression that the song was going to end. By force.

Today's addition to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast is the video of that song performance. I thought it went pretty well, and that the Scouts did a great job with it. It is a great example of how Scouts can be silly, have a good time, and share that good time with other people. What silly thing has your troop done lately?

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MSPP #24: Buckskin Camp Staff Sings

Some of the best things about attending summer camp are the campfire programs at the beginning and the end of the week. The 2007 staff of Buckskin Camp of Many Point Scout Camp did an excellent job of keeping everyone entertained during this summer's opening campfire program. Due to a rain storm that happened to wonder into camp that evening, we had to have the program in the dining hall. The location did not damper the spirit of any of the Scouts, leaders, or staff. Everyone had a great time.

This video of the Melrose Scouting Production Podcast features the Buckskin Staff singing a song about Scouting as the campfire program came to a close. I do not know what the song is titled, but it is a great song that includes the twelve points of the Scout Law. It is a catchy little tune and I find myself humming it while I write this blog entry. Enjoy it and tell your friends about this podcast.

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