Pep (The Peppiest Camp)

DESCRIPTION: "The peppiest (girls/camp) I ever saw, It never was a-pokin', If I were to tell you of the pep they've got, You'd think I was a-jokin'." "It's not the pep in the pepper-pot... It's good old-fashioned P-E-P" from somewhere or other
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Harbin-Parodology)
KEYWORDS: food wordplay campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Harbin-Parodology, #133, p. 41, "Old-Fashinoed Pep" (1 text, tune referenced)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 134, 138-139, 175, 346, 424, 432, 501, "The Peppiest Camp"/"Pep" (notes plus 3 texts on pp. 138-139; bibliography on pp. 655-656)
Roud #37849
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Thinnest Man" (lyrics, form)
cf. "Polly Wolly Doodle" (tune of one version, according to Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs)
cf. "Ain't Gonna Rain No More" (tune, according to Harbin-Parodology)
NOTES [99 words]: Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs's note on p. 134 thinks this may derive from, "or have a common ancestor with," "The Thinnest Man." I don't think there is much doubt; not only are the last two lines of the first verse essentially the same, but the scansion is identical. And while "The Thinnest Man's" attestation is relatively recent, this seems like a clear and obvious rewrite. Although Averill treats it as traditional, I somewhat doubt it; of her three texts, two are her own personal texts and one is only a fragment. It is one of those songs that traces its ancestry to Harbin-Parodology. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF138P

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