SONGS OF THE FRIENDS OF THE PLEISTOCENE: OR, ONE MORE BEER AND I’LL SING ALONG… (Invited Presentation)

Geology and music probably have been close companions since the first field work was done in Europe centuries ago. Sitting around campfires leads to singing, attending field trips leads to (mostly) friendly ribbing and jokes directed at the leaders, and merging the two results in geological song parodies. It’s likely that early geologists in the United States were influenced by theatrical performances, including song parodies, hosted by clubs such as the Hasty Pudding Theatricals at Harvard since 1844. The Pick and Hammer Club of the USGS certainly followed these examples. I and other like-minded folk have been adding song lyrics to the Pacific Cell Friends of the Pleistocene songbook, usually to commemorate the annual FOP field trip or other occasion and sometimes out of pure inspiration. The Songbook now includes about 75 ditties, including a few culled from other groups and organizations; it’s likely that other FOP regional cells have similar accumulations. This musical “lecture” with banjo will include a few of these songs, such as “At the FOP!”, “Go Glacier Go”, “FOP Digging Song”, and “The Climate It Is A-Changin”, until the hook comes out.