Tunes From The Trenches – SAM – Peter Lawson

A non-stop medley of tunes from World War One from recruiting through to the Last Post. Duration 131/2 minutes. Content: The recruiting song “Your King and Country Want You” starts us off followed by “Goodbye, Dolly Gray” as the soldiers leave for war. “Belgium put the Kibosh on the Kaiser” is followed by some proper trench songs – various lyrics were improvised by the soldiers!! – “Three German Officers crossed the Rhine” and “They were only playing Leap-Frog”. “The Bells of Hell go Ting-a-ling-a-ling” leads to strains of “Stille Nacht” recalling the Christmas truce. “When this Lousy War is Over” and “There’s no place like Home” are balanced by “Land of Hope and Glory” before the Americans arrive with “The Caissons go Rolling Along” and “Over There”. “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” brings us towards a rousing finish save for an optional “Last Post-lude” to end reflectively.