The Six Nights of the Canon

Lyrics by William A. Barton

(To the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”)

 

On the first night of the Canon, Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

On the second night of the Canon, Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

221B Baker Street—

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

On the third night of the Canon, Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

Three Garridebs,

221B Baker Street—

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

On the fourth night of the Canon, Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

The Sign of the Four,

Three Garridebs,

221B Baker Street—

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

On the fifth night of the Canon, Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

Five Orange Pips . . .

The Sign of the Four,

Three Garridebs,

221B Baker Street—

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

On the sixth night of the Canon Conan Doyle gave to us . . .

Six Napoleons,

Five Orange Pips . . .

The Sign of the Four,

Three Garridebs,

221B Baker Street—

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

And Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson!

 

(And why are only six nights of the Canon being praised in song? Well, that’s easy—if you add six, five, four, three, two, and one, you get . . . 21. Six is half of 12, and if you divide 12 by 6 you get 2. And the second letter of the alphabet is, of course, B. So add them all together and this song gives you, once again, the Canonical number of 221B! And if you combine 6—the number of verses we do have—with the number of verses after 6 that we don’t have—0—you get 60—the number of stories in the entire Holmes Canon. And I think that’s quite enough for one holiday season, don’t you?)

 

(© 2003, William A. Barton. All rights reservered. Permission is granted for nonprofit use of these lyrics at Sherlockian events, provided due credit is given the author. For all other uses, written permission must be obtained from the author.)