I'm glad to see this thread being revived. I recently had a practical lesson in the value of marching songs when I marched with my team in the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen, Holland. I was the lead singer for our team, and I found that a good song really does help you push through the pain. Some of my favourites were "Halo Infantry" (I have no idea what the Halo means) and "Mama, mama can't you see" and a French song "Mon pere n'avait que dix poulets". They had a powerful rythymn and were easy to sing loud. Some other good songs, like Barrett's Privateers, didn't work as well on the march because I was almost gasping for air at the end of a line.

The Canadian Army has a long tradition of pretty filthy marching songs too, but we were under strict orders not to sing anything really offensive. Not to worry, the Dutch units took care of that. They were always singing, mostly songs in English that they'd picked up from the Brits and Americans. I heard a lot of good singing from the Brits and Americans, but not the obscene stuff I remember from years ago.

For a folkie like me, it was fascinating to be part of an active folk process. We heard another Canadian team singing "Halo Infantry" towards the end of the third day. Their lead singer taught it to me, and said that he had heard an American team singing it a couple of years before.

Now that the subject has been brought up again, are their any recordings of Jodys or marching songs. I probably won't have a chance to do Nijmegen again, but if I do I'd like to learn some new songs.

Edmund