Rose of no man’s land, The

AKA La rose sous les boulets
First Published 1918
Writer/composer Louis Delamarre Janes A Brennan and Jack Caddigan Roud RN10704

Music Hall Performers Dollie and Billie
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
LeClair, William ; USA : Maine : 1945
Payne, Ernie ; England : Avon : 1979
Chaplin, Ted England : Suffolk : Haughley 1985
Spicer, George England : Sussex : 1975 

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.

A tribute to the Red Cross Nurses of World War 1, it was a big international hit in the early 1920s and revived in 1945.

Some aspects of the song’s origins are not clear … I am pretty sure that the song was originally written in French by Louis Delamarre as “La rose sous les boulets” and translated into English by Tin Pan Alley songwriters Janes A Brennan and Jack Caddigan, though the reverse may be true! In the British Halls it was initially associated with the singing of American sisters Dollie and Billie, but like so many hit-song imported from the US in the early 20th century, it was sung by a wide range of artistes.

It was widely remembered by traditional singers in the southeast of England..

A contemporary recording by Henry Burr(1918):

As revived in World War Two (1945):

Sources: