# could somebody please identify this march song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021 "2003-01-01T07:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/1 "2003-01-01T07:17:11Z")
Ok, this has been driving me crazy for years. There’s this march that I hear all over, and I just heard a jazz version of it on The Twilight Zone marathon in the fortune teller episode…and my uncle actually gave me a travel clock for christmas with that same song as the alarm! I apologize if this is violating a SMDB rule, but I put a 5 second clip of the song here - [http://www.wpi.edu/~rgreen/march.mp3](http://www.wpi.edu/~rgreen/march.mp3) … could somebody please identify this song…it’s official name? who composed it? thank you very much ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/2 "2003-01-01T07:23:01Z")
If I’m not sorely mistaken, that’s _American Patrol_, written by FW Meacham in 1885. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/3 "2003-01-01T07:27:28Z")
Yup, visit [here](http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-7/thismonth/featureb.asp), scroll halfway down, and there’s a midi file available, along with more detailed info. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/4 "2003-01-01T07:35:57Z")
Damn, now I can’t get it out of my head! Curse you, **fusoya**! ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/5 "2003-01-01T07:41:44Z")
wow, I didn’t expect such an upbeat song to be a MILITARY march…thanks for the quick reply 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/6 "2003-01-01T08:39:29Z")
Sounds more like a military Polka to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-somebody-please-identify-this-march-song/146021/7 "2003-01-01T19:45:44Z")
You’re absolutely correct about the song being [American Patrol](http://www2.gasou.edu/special_collections/exhibits/patriotic/american-patrol.html). One of the finest recordings of that song, IMO, was the 1942 Glenn Miller Band session of April 2. Defines the song for me. Never heard the version that you posted. Rather jumpy and hyper, while the Miller version is simply swinging.