i

                  (excerpt from the 1977 Philmont Songbook)*





                            
            

                     DEDICATED TO THE PHILMONT STAFF OF
      
                                   1977





        I hear America Singing! Walt Whitman's words and spirit persist.
        Songs of America and Philmont are herein transcribed for friends,
        campers and staff to share our rich musical heritage.




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                  (excerpt from the 1988 Philmont Songbook)*



              This Song Book is a composite work of the Philmont staff
         over several summers.

              The first Philmont Song Book was published in 1977, and 
         was called "Silver on the Sage." It had the Black Bull logo
         on the cover.

              In 1980 a second Song Book was compiled by the staff. It
         was printed and put together by the 1981 staff. There were
         1,000 copies of the book which has the 40th Anniversary logo
         printed on the cover. 
 
              This Song Book is a refinement of the 1981 book. It con-
         tains more songs written by Philmont staff members, and a
         special effort was exerted to correct chords that were incorrect
         in the 1981 versin of the Song Book. The 40th Anniversary cover,
         designed by Jeff Segler, has been retained. A sincere effort 
         has also been made to help Scouts who wish to learn to play a
         guitar.

              Most of the songs written by Philmont staff memebers were
         recorded in 1981 for production of a cassette tape. This tape
         can be purchased in the Philmont Trading Post. The cassette
         tape, used with the Song Book, should be a great help to those
         wanting to learn the popular Philmont songs.

          The memories of Scouts in Philmont's mountains is great
         with us. It is hoped the Song Book and Cassette tape will call
         up memories for you also.

                                                            Adios


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*Special thanks to Kevin Thomas for the photocopies 

ii

To the reader:

      Thank you for taking a look at the Online Philmont Song Book. Over the years the Philmont Songbook has become a one of a kind piece of Philmont history. With much hard work, this book started as a paper version many years ago. Since then it has circulated among the staff for many summers. Recently I decided it was time the songbook made the leap into the information age. Much of the original paper formatting has been kept intact, but now it’s been given a new lease on life as a web page. Trail Signs are provided at the bottom of each virtual page so that you can click through the original pages much like you might flip through a book.

      Beyond text formatting, I decided to add some audio examples of a few songs. The first summer I worked at Philmont the songs I learned were taught to me orally. I like the tradition of handing down songs orally. They have more personal meaning that way. So keeping with that heritage some of the songs have been put into .wav format. And by the way, most of the songs that are in audio format are slightly different from the written versions in the book. Think of the audio example and the written version as a guide. By intention or fluke people tend to put their own spin on each of the Philmont songs. I’ve always loved that spirit of individual interpretation. Play it however you want. Every version has it’s own neat thing to it.

      At any rate, I’ve never had to give a dedication before, but I think this book deserves it. I’d like to dedicate this online version to all the past present and future staff members of Philmont. These songs embody the spirit of the staff. Also special thanks goes out to the original compilers.

                The past was the teacher,

                the present is the joy of playing,

                and the future is the promise to keep the music alive.

IWGBTP!

May 18, 2000

Coffee ’97 - ’01 Philmont Staff