The Song of the Bow
The Song of the Bow
Original Text
The Poems of Arthur Conan Doyle (1922; John Murray, 1928): 3-4. 21473.35.1 Widener Library Harvard University
1What of the bow?
2 The bow was made in England:
3Of true wood, of yew-wood,
4 The wood of English bows;
5 So men who are free
6 Love the old yew-tree
7And the land where the yew-tree grows.
8What of the cord?
9 The cord was made in England:
10A rough cord, a tough cord,
11 A cord that bowmen love;
12 And so we will sing
13 Of the hempen string
14And the land where the cord was wove.
15What of the shaft?
16 The shaft was cut in England:
17A long shaft, a strong shaft,
18 Barbed and trim and true;
19 So we'll drink all together
20 To the grey goose-feather
21And the land where the grey goose flew.
22What of the mark?
23 Ah, seek it not in England,
24A bold mark, our old mark
25 Is waiting over-sea.
26 When the strings harp in chorus,
28It is there that our mark will be.
29What of the men?
30 The men were bred in England:
31The bowmen -- the yeomen,
33 Here's to you -- and to you!
34 To the hearts that are true
35And the land where the true hearts dwell.
Notes
27] The seal of the British Royal Arms has images of a lion and a harp. Back to Line
32] dale and fell: valley and hill. Back to Line
Publication Notes
Songs of Action (London: Smith, Elder, 1898). See Harold Locke, A Bibliographical Catalogue of the Writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Tunbridge Wells: D. Webster, 1928): 48.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2005