![]() Sharp notes that this was suggested by the editors of English County Songs. This may be a corruption of 'six proud waters', a reference to the six jars of water that Jesus turned into wine at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee, (John 2:6). ![]() Another possibility is the Jewish cross, a constellation over Israel. Alternatively, they could be the seven stars of Revelation chapter 1, verse 16, which are held in the right hand of Christ and explained as referring to the seven angels of seven of the early Christian churches. Other options include Ursa Major, or the seven traditional planets. The seven are probably the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades star cluster. Or this may refer to the rains of Noah's Flood. The April rainers refer to the Hyades star cluster, called the "rainy Hyades" in classical times, and rising with the sun in April the Greeks thought of the Hyades as inaugurating the April rains. Sharp records no variants in Somerset, but that Sabine Baring-Gould found a Devon variant "The nine delights" which Sharp glosses as " the joys of Mary". The nine may be an astronomical reference: the Sun, Moon and five planets known before 1781 yields seven and to this may be added the sphere of the fixed stars and the Empyrean, or it may refer to the nine orders of angels. This refers to the ten commandments given to Moses. These are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful (minus Judas Iscariot), or possibly St Ursula and her companions. Sharp states that there were no variants of this line. This refers to the twelve Apostles of Jesus, although the number has other meanings it may originally have referred to the months of the year, for example. The twelve stanzas may be interpreted as follows: Sharp discusses at length the similar Hebrew song " Echad Mi Yodea" (Who Knows One?), which accumulates up to thirteen and is sung at many Jewish Passover seders. What is your one-er-y? One is One ." However, Sharp records that "a form of this song, 'Green grow the rushes, O' is known at Eton", that it was printed in English County Songs, and that Arthur Sullivan had included a version in the Savoy opera The Yeomen of the Guard. What will you sing to me? I will sing you one-er-y. "Green grow the rushes, Ho" (or "O"), the chorus, is not included in Sharp's version, which has simply the call and refrain "Come and I will sing to you. Sharp states that the song was very common in Somerset and the whole of the West of England. īy 1868 several variant and somewhat garbled versions were being sung by street children as Christmas carols. The song's origins and age are uncertain: however, a counting song with similar lyrics, but without the 'Green grow the rushes' chorus, was sung by English children in the first half of the 19th century. The musicologist Cecil Sharp, influential in the folklore revival in England, noted in his 1916 One Hundred English Folksongs that the words are "so corrupt, indeed, that in some cases we can do little more than guess at their original meaning". The lyrics of the song are, in many places, exceedingly obscure, and present an unusual mixture of Christian catechesis, astronomical mnemonics, and what may be pagan cosmology. Seven for the seven stars in the sky, Six for the six proud walkers, Five for the symbols at your door, Four for the Gospel makers, Three, three, the rivals, Two, two, the lily-white boys, Clothed all in green, O One is one and all alone And evermore shall be so. I'll sing you twelve, O Green grow the rushes, O What are your twelve, O? Twelve for the twelve Apostles Eleven for the eleven who went to heaven, Ten for the ten commandments, Nine for the nine bright shiners, Eight for the April Rainers. The stanzas are clearly much corrupted and often obscure, but the references are generally agreed to be both Biblical and astronomical. There are many variants of the song, collected by musicologists including Sabine Baring-Gould and Cecil Sharp from the West of England at the start of the twentieth century. I'll sing you one, O Green grow the rushes, O What is your one, O? One is one and all alone And evermore shall be so. It is cumulative in structure, with each verse built up from the previous one by appending a new stanza. The song is not to be confused with Robert Burns's similarly titled " Green Grow the Rashes" nor with the Irish folk band Altan's song of the same name. It often takes the form of antiphon, where one voice calls and is answered by a chorus. It is sometimes sung as a Christmas carol. Green Grow the Rushes, O (alternatively "Ho" or "Oh") (also known as "The Twelve Prophets", "The Carol of the Twelve Numbers", "The Teaching Song", "The Dilly Song", or "The Ten Commandments"), is an English folk song ( Roud #133). Not to be confused with Green Grow the Lilacs.
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