TCDE-Team at 14:15, 21 March 2026

2026-03-21T14:15:44Z

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	== Music ~~Score~~ ==		== Sheet Music ==

	In december 1897, [[Boosey & Co.]] published the poem as a song "Who Carries the Gun?". Music by [[Alicia Adélaïde Needham]].		In december 1897, [[Boosey & Co.]] published the poem as a song "Who Carries the Gun?". Music by [[Alicia Adélaïde Needham]].

TCDE-Team at 21:01, 23 February 2025

2025-02-23T21:01:39Z

New page

[[File:boosey-1897-12-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|thumb|250px|right|''Who Carries the Gun?'' ([[Boosey & Co.]], december 1897)]]

''A Ballad of the Ranks'' is a poem written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in [[The Speaker|The Speaker: The Liberal Review]] on 6 february 1897.

__TOC__

== Editions ==

* in ''[[The Speaker]]'' (6 february 1897 [UK])
* in ''[[The Living Age]]'' (27 march 1897 [US])
* in ''[[Current Literature]]'' (april 1897 [US])
* ''Who Carries the Gun?'' (december 1897, [[Boosey & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1898-1916, [[Smith, Elder & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (august 1898, [[Charles Scribner's Sons]] [US])
* in ''[[New York Journal]]'' (14 august 1898 [US])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (september 1898, [[Doubleday & McClure Co.|Doubleday, Page & Co.]] [US])
* ''A Ballad of the Ranks'' (march 1900, [[Chappell & Co.]] No. 20946 [UK])
* ''A Ballad of the Ranks'' (may 1901, [[Chappell & Co.]] No. 20981 [UK])
* ''A Ballad of the Ranks'' (september 1901, [[J. Curwen & Sons]] ''Chorus for Equal Voices No. 576'' [UK])
* ''A Ballad of the Ranks'' (may 1915, [[Boosey & Co.]] [UK])
* in ''[[Songs of Action]]'' (1918-1920, [[John Murray]] [UK])
* in ''[[The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle]]'' (1922-1928, [[John Murray]] [UK])

== Music ==
''Music translated by AI from the original music sheet below.''

{{audio|boosey-1897-12-who-carries-the-gun-p1-9.mp3}}

== A Ballad of the Ranks ==
[[File:the-speaker-1897-02-06-p154-155-a-ballad-of-the-ranks.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Speaker]] (6 february 1897, p. 154-155)]]

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from over the Tweed. 
Then let him go, for well we know 
He comes of a soldier breed. 
So drink together to rock and heather, 
Out where the red deer run, 
And stand aside for Scotland's pride— 
The man that carries the gun! 

For the Colonel rides before, 
The Major's on the flank, 
The Captains and the Adjutant 
Are in the foremost rank. 
But when it's 'Action front!' 
And fighting's to be done, 
Come one, come all, you stand or fall 
By the man who holds the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from a Yorkshire dale. 
Then let him go, for well we know 
The heart that never will fail. 
Here's to the fire of Lancashire, 
And here's to her soldier son! 
For the hard-bit north has sent him forth— 
The lad that carries the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from a Midland shire. 
Then let him go, for well we know 
He comes of an English sire. 
Here's a glass to a Midland lass, 
And each can choose the one, 
But east and west we claim the best 
For the man that carries the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from the hills of Wales. 
Then let him go, for well we know, 
That Taffy is hard as nails. 
There are several ll's in the place where he dwells, 
And of w's more than one, 
With a 'Llan' and a 'pen,' but it breeds good men, 
And it's they who carry the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from the windy west. 
Then let him go, for well we know 
That he is one of the best. 
There's Bristol rough, and Gloucester tough, 
And Devon yields to none. 
Or you may get in Somerset 
Your lad to carry the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from London town. 
Then let him go, for well we know 
The stuff that never backs down. 
He has learned to joke at the powder smoke, 
For he is the fog-smoke's son, 
And his heart is light and his pluck is right— 
The man who carries the gun. 

Who carries the gun? 
A lad from the Emerald Isle. 
Then let him go, for well we know, 
We've tried him many a while. 
We've tried him east, we've tried him west, 
We've tried him sea and land, 
But the man to beat old Erin's best 
Has never yet been planned. 

Who carries the gun? 
It's you, and you, and you; 
So let us go, and we won't say no 
If they give us a job to do. 
Here we stand with a cross-linked hand, 
Comrades every one; 
So one last cup, and drink it up 
To the man who carries the gun! 

For the Colonel rides before, 
The Major's on the flank, 
The Captains and the Adjutant 
Are in the foremost rank. 
And when it's 'Action front!' 
And there's fighting to be done, 
Come one, come all, you stand or fall 
By the man who holds the gun.

: January 27th, 1897.
:: A. Conan Doyle

== Music Score ==

In december 1897, [[Boosey & Co.]] published the poem as a song "Who Carries the Gun?". Music by [[Alicia Adélaïde Needham]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:boosey-1897-12-p0-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p1-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p2-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p3-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p4-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p5-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p6-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p7-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p8-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
File:boosey-1897-12-p9-who-carries-the-gun.jpg|
</gallery>

== More sources ==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="300px" caption="[[Current Literature]] (april 1897)">
File:current-literature-1897-04-a-ballad-of-the-ranks-p383.jpg|p. 383
</gallery>

----
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]

A Ballad of the Ranks - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 14:15, 21 March 2026

TCDE-Team at 21:01, 23 February 2025