The Rose of No Man's Land
| "The Rose of No Man's Land" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song | |
| Written | 1918 |
The Rose of No Man's Land by Jack Caddigan and James Alexander Brennan is a contemporary song written as a tribute to the Red Cross Nurses at the front lines of the First World War.
Different versions were published by Leo Feist Inc., Herman Darewski, Jack Mendelsohn Music and others in 1918 and 1945. The 1918 Feist edition is in a Patriotic format (four pages at 7 by 10 inches, to conserve paper) and has a French lyric (La rose sous les boulets) by Louis Delamarre. The 1945 Mendelsohn edition is only two pages and in English only. While the main published versions were for piano and voice, other versions were arranged for band, orchestra or male quartette. Mechanicals for the phonograph and player piano were also released.
English Lyric
(Jack Caddigan, James Alexander Brennan)
I've seen some beautiful flowers,
Grow in life's garden fair,
I've spent some wonderful hours,
Lost in their fragrance rare;
But I have found another,
Wondrous beyond compare.
There's a rose that grows on "No Man's Land"
And it's wonderful to see,
Tho' its spray'd with tears, it will live for years,
In my garden of memory.
It's the one red rose the soldier knows,
It's the work of the Master's hand;
Mid the War's great curse, Stands the Red Cross Nurse,
She's the rose of "No Man's Land".
Out of the heavenly splendour,
Down to the trail of woe,
God in his mercy has sent her,
Cheering the world below;
We call her "Rose of Heaven",
We've learned to love her so.
There's a rose that grows on "No Man's Land"
And it's wonderful to see,
Tho' its spray'd with tears, it will live for years,
In my garden of memory.
It's the one red rose the soldier knows,
It's the work of the Master's hand;
Mid the War's great curse, Stands the Red Cross Nurse,
She's the rose of "No Man's Land".
French Lyric
(Louis Delamarre)
J'ai vu bien des fleurs s'empourprer,
Au jardin de la vie.
Et souvent j'aime à m'enivrer
De leur senteur be'nie.
J'en sais une au pur eclat,
Sans rival ici-bas.
La rose fleurit sous les Boulets,
En avant du front elle est
De pleurs arrosée
Pour bien des années.
Dans nos coeurs elle restera,
La rose rouge amour du soldat.
Dans cette enceinte où rien ne bouge,
L'ombre qui parâit,
Portant la Croix Rouge,
C'est la Roses des Boulets.
References
In Jacqueline Winspear's novel "Maisie Dobbs", the title character sings this song to a group of badly disfigured veterans of World War One in England.