"Second Week of Deer Camp" is a song by American

novelty music A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...

band

Da Yoopers Da Yoopers are an American comedy and novelty musical group from Ishpeming, Michigan. They are known primarily for their comedic songs and skits, most of which center on life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The band's name includes the term " ...

. It was released in 1987 as a single from their second album ''Culture Shock''. The band's co-founders Jim DeCaire and Joe Potila wrote the song.

History

Da Yoopers were founded in

Ishpeming, Michigan Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the Iron ore mines employ ...

by Jim DeCaire and Joe Potila in the 1970s. By the mid-1980s the band had recorded two albums: ''Yoopanese'' and ''Culture Shock'', the latter of which contains "Second Week of Deer Camp". At the time, drummer and vocalist Jim DeCaire recorded the band's music in his basement and distributed audiocassettes from his living room. One of these tapes was sent to radio host

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

, who played it frequently on his radio show. The song was also popular on radio stations in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

and in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. According to DeCaire, the band sold more than 30,000 copies of ''Culture Shock''. "Second Week of Deer Camp" is a novelty song about a group of men who partake in

deer hunting Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, and, formerly, for producing Buckskin (leather), buckskin hides, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food sourc ...

in a camp in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula of ...

. Despite their efforts, they state that they "''shoot the bull but never shoot no deer''." An uncredited article from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

described the song as having a "polka beat". Both this publication and David Hacker of the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' noted the

Yooper dialect North-Central American English is an American English dialect, or dialect in formation, native to the Upper Midwestern United States, an area that somewhat overlaps with speakers of the Inland Northern dialect situated more in the eastern Gre ...

in Potila's singing voice. At the time, many disc jockeys who played the song noted it was requested most frequently by women whose husbands were hunting, as well as the hunters themselves. Ten years after the song's original release in 1987, the band filmed a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Second Week of Deer Camp" on their video album ''It's About Time, Eh!'' The video featured guitarist Jim Bellmore, who replaced Potila in 1995.

Legacy

On their 1991 album ''Yoopy Do Wah'', Da Yoopers released a sequel song titled "Second Week of Deer Camp Part II". In 1995, the song appeared on '' Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection'', a compilation of songs that were popular on Dr. Demento's radio show.

References

{{Reflist 1987 songs Songs about Michigan Novelty songs Deer hunting Songs about hunters