Second Week of Deer Camp

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a vivid, if somewhat grim, picture of a chaotic deer camp. The opening gunshot and the immediate, absurd accusation "Hey, you shot my cow!" set a tone of drunken disarray. The narrator wakes up in a miserable state: "swollen head," "dust balls," "icy breeze," and "pants are frozen to the floor." This isn't the rugged wilderness adventure one might imagine, but a low-fi, uncomfortable existence. This discomfort is juxtaposed with the chorus's declaration that "the second week of deer camp / Is the greatest time of year." The narrator claims "didn't drink too many / Only turdy cans of beer," a transparent lie that underscores the self-deception at play. The camp's activities are less about hunting and more about "drink, play cards, and shoot the bull," with the punchline being "But never shoot no deer." The only excursions are "when we go for beer," highlighting a cycle of inebriation and idleness. The true artistry lies in the escalating absurdity of the other campers' predicaments. We see a "weasel" stealing the narrator's gear, a camp that "smells like a dump" with "dirty underwear" hanging out, and friends passed out in bizarre places – "in the wood box," "on the stove," and the outhouse. The peak of this bizarre narrative is Goofus, who "killed it wit' his truck," a feat celebrated as the "first buck / Since 1968!" This anticlimax perfectly captures the spirit of a camp where the "hunt" has devolved into something far more unconventional and less successful. Ultimately, the lyrics resonate because they tap into a specific kind of male bonding ritual, one where the shared misery and the outlandish stories become the real point. The humor comes from the stark contrast between the idealized notion of deer camp and the grubby, drunken reality depicted. The exaggerated misfortunes and the sheer lack of actual hunting success create a darkly comedic portrait of camaraderie found in shared, low-stakes chaos.