"They Go Wild" as sung at camp refers to the bothersome insects in the woods. But in the original song, a big hit in 1917 in the early days of recorded music, "they" refers to members of the opposite sex.
Here is the camp version:
They go wild, simply wild, over me
They go wild, simply wild as they can be
Ev’ry morning noon and night
In the evening how they bite
The wood ticks, mosquitoes, and ev’ry fly in sight
Ev’ry morning on my pillowcase
A daddy longlegs stares me in the face
In my bathing suit and shoes
They assemble for a snooze
They go wild, simply wild, over me
And here are a couple of verses from the original:
"They Go Wild" was composed by Fred Fisher with lyrics by Joe McCarthy. Here is Billy Murray's version, the one that popularized the song:
Here is the camp version:
They go wild, simply wild, over me
They go wild, simply wild as they can be
Ev’ry morning noon and night
In the evening how they bite
The wood ticks, mosquitoes, and ev’ry fly in sight
Ev’ry morning on my pillowcase
A daddy longlegs stares me in the face
In my bathing suit and shoes
They assemble for a snooze
They go wild, simply wild, over me
They go wild, simply wild, over me
They go mad, just as foolish as can be
I meet so many kind I have to leave a few behind
They love me, they kiss me, I guess they must be blind
Every night how they fight over me
They all fall for my personality
I'm not good looking, it is true, but it's the little things I do
That make them wild, simply wild, over me
The song has been recorded in many genres over the past century. I haven't found the camp version anywhere, so I will leave you with this wester swing version from the 1930s, one of my favorites:
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