Harvey is dropping what is sure to be a platinum-gold-selling album on Epiphany
But you’ll get to preview the track listings beginning Christmas morn on Facebook, Instagram, and even on Bluesky!
“It’s no door holder number three, but it IS going to be classic!” – Harvey the Hippo, Recording Artist and Self-designated Official Spokeshippo of Sky Lake
track one: “a hippo in a hemlock tree”
on the first day of Christmas
my camp friends gave to me
a hippo in a hemlock tree
the interview
q: harvey, what inspired this track?
a: i received a novel as an early christmas present and i ate* that book up and suddenly wanted nothing more than a hippo for christmas // of course my camp friends being camp friends found another camp friend who had gotten one beanie hippo in each color shirt in the sky lake camp store a few years ago // and well // I GOT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS // my camp friends did make me go on a scavenger hunt to find it // but when i saw its cute little eyes peeking out at me from my favorite hemlock tree i just knew i had to write a song about the experience.
[*Editorial note: Harvey quite literally consumed the book. We at Sky Lake Records got him another copy after he promised not to eat any more books.]
track two: “two cookout forms”
on the second day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
two cookout forms
the interview
q: can you tell us a little more about “two cookout forms”, harvey?
a: of course // i love going on cookouts at camp // a cookout is the only time i ever eat ants on a log while sitting on a log or devour a tin foil dinner in the middle of the woods // my camp friends know that if it were feasible i would request a cookout for every single breakfast / dinner / and supper of my entire life // that they went out of their way to get me not just a supper form but a breakfast form too meant a lot to me and inspired me to write this song
track three: “three staff shirts”
on the third day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
three staff shirts
the interview
q: harvey, are you a member of the sky lake staff?
a: i consider myself to be staff adjacent so i will be attending staff reunion tonight // my dream job other than being a recording artist would be to be named the official spokeshippo for sky lake and help even more with social media // i just love camp and all the fun i have when my camp friends come to visit and as a very sociable hippo i would love to connect with even more new friends // when my longtime camp friends honored me with the three staff shirts i was totally blown away and in that moment the words to this song practically wrote themselves
track four: “four ‘for our friends’”
on the fourth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
four ‘for our friends’
the interview
q: you seem particularly excited about today’s gift. why is that?
a: i mean // steve and clyde are my musical idols // i can say with one hundred percent certainty that i would not be here today if it were not for them // soon after steve passed i went to listen to their album entitled «for our friends» only to discover that i had listened to it so many times over the years that all the groves were worn down and it no longer played // i just can not wait to tell my best friend oscar what our camp friends were able to track down // but only after i listen to the album at least 77 times
track five: “five gold beads”
on the fifth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
five gold beads
the interview
q: gold beads seem to be a huge deal at Sky Lake so how did your camp friends manage to get you five?
a: i am as stunned as you are // i have a feeling they bartered with five individuals who have spent 25 years or more on staff or as a camper // but they might have acquired them from someone who has performed something extraordinary for camp like a world renowned artist who meticulously captured my essence in plush form // i am just in awe of the beads and felt that a song was the best way to honor the gift
track six: “six technicolor corcls”
on the sixth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
six technicolor corcls
the interview
q: what are you going to do with six corcls!?
a: once i get over the shock of receiving six corcls and the lake thaws and i can convince a lifeguard to be on duty and i can wrangle up six life vests i will invite a bunch of friends to come corcling with me // the first time i ever saw a corcl i wasn’t sure what to make of it but i did know i really wanted to try one out on the lake // i love paddling around in a corcl and just enjoying the sunshine // i might even convince my friends to do a floating breakfast where we cook sandwiches on shore and then float out in a corcl to eat // in the meantime i could not let this opportunity to dedicate a song to one of my favorite watercraft of all time
track seven: “seven tie dye bottles”
on the seventh day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
seven tie dye bottles
the interview
q: oooh, looks like someone is ready to do some tie-dying!
a: i am always ready for doing some tie-dye // i love love love making different patterns with a variety of colors except yellow // i have nothing against yellow but it is definitely the hardest color dye to use and so i typically use orange instead // also yellow makes me hungry for hay which we all know i already eat 200 pounds of every day // i am currently working on creating a pattern that looks like a dove in flight which is very similar to the outline of sky lake itself // these new bottles are going to come in very handy in that endeavor and i am so glad i was inspired to write this track so i have something new to listen to when i am in the craft shop
track eight: “eight raccoon circles”
on the eighth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
eight raccoon circles
the interview
q: you seem pretty excited about these things called raccoon circles, what do you use them for?
a: group building is one of my favorite things to do as you probably already know // and yes I know I have a lot of favorite things about camp // i just LOVE camp // anyway I’m really looking forward to breaking out these raccoon circles this summer // there are like a million and one activities that can be done with these lengths of tubular nylon webbing // i like using a water knot to create the circle and then using it to help new campers feel more comfortable talking about themselves // and it can be used to help a group balance to form a wagon wheel // and i’m pretty sure the song with the same name was written about the activity // and speaking of songs // i think sky lakers are going to love this new track about raccoon circles // i know i sure do
track nine: “nine signs of fruit”
on the ninth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
nine fruit signs
the interview
q: what inspired you to write this track, harvey?
a: you know i love singing at camp mainly because it brings me a sense of joy and peace // the fruits of the spirit is right up there on my top ten list // all i know is that my friends have a lot of patience with me when I voluntell them to hold the signs // but their kindness really shone through by making these nine signs for me // i was inspired to write something that highlighted their goodness to the world // i also wanted to make something that highlighted the faithfulness that my friends and fans demonstrate to my craft and how they treat one another with such gentleness // not sharing this track before today took a hugh amount of self-control so i hope my friends love this song as much as i enjoyed writing it
track ten: “ten mugs of cocoa”
on the tenth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
ten mugs of cocoa
the interview
q: i’ve heard lots of great things about sky lake hot cocoa
a: it is the best hot cocoa in the world in my opinion and it was really really really really hard not to gulp all ten mugs of it at once // i’ve already told my friends that if we celebrate the twelve days of christmas again cocoa might be better off being like a day two or three gift // i think what makes sky lake cocoa so special is that it is made with love // and i attempted to infuse some of that same love into this song
track eleven: “eleven postcard stamps”
on the eleventh day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
eleven postcard stamps
the interview
q: why postcard stamps, harvey?
a: as you might have guessed, i thoroughly enjoy sending postcards // i especially love sending the retro postcards that are available in the sky lake gift shop // and one can never have too many postcard stamps on hand // my camp friends have been the recipients of many of my postcard mailings over the years so they totally nailed it on this gift // i hope this track inspires others to send some post cards of their own
track twelve: “twelve staff applying”
on the twelfth day of christmas
my camp friends gave to me
twelve staff applying
the interview
q: wow, what a gift for the final day of christmas!
a: you’re telling me // i have loved all the presents i received over the past eleven days but this one really takes the cake // it can be challenging to get young people to give up so much of their summer to work at camp so their gift of time is something to be cherished // plus i genuinely love getting to spend quality time with some of the most loving and caring people in the whole wide world // i have it on good authority that the sky lake staff application site is live so if anyone is inspired by this track they can head over to skylake.campbrainstaff.com // i’m just sayin
