First World War.com - Vintage Audio - The Rose Of No Man's Land

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Sheet music for "The Rose of No Man's Land" Vintage Audio: The Rose Of No Man's Land
Updated - Sunday, 9 February, 2003

Reproduced below are the lyrics to The Rose of No Man's Land, penned by Jack Caddigan with music by James A. Brennan.

The song was written as a tribute to the work of Red Cross nurses who served during the First World War, often under dangerous conditions.

Two recordings of the song are available here: the first is performed by the tenor William Thomas and Orchestra (click here) in 1916 (MP3 Format 735kb); the second by Henry Burr (click here) and performed in 1918 (MP3 Format 1,145kb).

The Rose of No Man's Land

I've seen some beautiful flowers
Grow in my 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;
Though its place is there it will live for me
In my garden of memories.

It's the one red rose the soldier knows
It's the work of the Master's hand,
It's the sweet word from the Red Cross nurse,
She's the rose of no-man's land.

A "Dixie" (from the Hindi degci) was an army cooking pot.