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 The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

#133). It is sometimes sung as a

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

. It often takes the form of

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

, where one voice calls and is answered by a chorus. The song is not to be confused with

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

's similarly titled "

Green Grow the Rashes Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a co ...

" nor with the Irish folk band Altan's song of the same name. It is cumulative in structure, with each verse built up from the previous one by appending a new

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have ei ...

. The first verse is: :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. There are many variants of the song, collected by

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

s including

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

and

Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...

from the West of England at the start of the twentieth century. The stanzas are clearly much corrupted and often obscure, but the references are generally agreed to be both

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

and

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

Lyrics

The twelfth, cumulated, verse runs: :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. :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.

Origins

The lyrics of the song are, in many places, exceedingly obscure, and present an unusual mixture of Christian

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

mnemonics A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imager ...

, and what may be

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

. The

, 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 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. By 1868 several variant and somewhat garbled versions were being sung by street children as Christmas carols. Sharp states that the song was very common in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

and the whole of the West of England. "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. What will you sing to me? I will sing you one-er-y. 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 Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

had included a version in the

Savoy opera Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impr ...

'' The Yeomen of the Guard''. 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 Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

seders.

Interpretation

The twelve stanzas may be interpreted as follows: :''Twelve for the twelve Apostles'' This refers to the

twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, although the number has other meanings; it may originally have referred to the months of the year, for example. Sharp states that there were no variants of this line. :''Eleven for the eleven who went to heaven'' These are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful (minus

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

), or possibly

St Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar is 21 October. There is little inform ...

and her 11,000 companions. :''Ten for the ten commandments'' This refers to the

ten commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

given to

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

. :''Nine for the nine bright shiners'' 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 In ancient cosmologies, the Empyrean Heaven, or simply the Empyrean, was the place in the highest heaven, which was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire (or aether in Aristotle's natural philosophy). The word derives from the Mediev ...

, or it may refer to the nine orders of angels. Sharp records no variants in Somerset, but that

found a

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

variant "The nine delights" which Sharp glosses as " the joys of Mary". :''Eight for the April Rainers'' Refers to the Hyades star cluster, called the "rainy Hyades" in classical times, and rising with the sun in April; the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

thought of the Hyades as inaugurating the April rains. :''Seven for the seven stars in the sky'' The seven are probably the Seven Sisters, the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

star cluster. Other options include

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

, or the seven traditional planets. Alternatively, they could be the seven stars of

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

churches. :''Six for the six proud walkers'' 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). Sharp notes that this was suggested by the editors of '' English County Songs''. Or it may refer to

Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ac ...

9:2 where six men with swords come in a vision of the prophet to slaughter the people, whose leaders (8:16) have committed such sins as turning East to worship the Sun, and "have filled the land with violence". :''Five for the symbols at your door'' May refer to the marks of blood that God commanded the Israelites to put upon their doorways at the Exodus (cf Exodus 12:7). It may also allude to the practice of putting a

pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...

at the door of a house to ward off

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

es and

evil spirit Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generall ...

s in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and the Early Modern period, and is alluded to in literary works.

John Timpson John Harry Robert Timpson, (2 July 1928 – 19 November 2005) was a British journalist, best known as a radio presenter. Early life Born at Ridgeholme, 53 The Ridgeway, Kenton, Middlesex, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, a boys' ...

's book ''Timpson's England'' states that it refers to five symbols displayed above the doorways of houses that would shelter

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests. He gives an example of a house where these can still be seen. :''Four for the Gospel makers'' This refers to the four Evangelists,

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, Luke, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. :''Three, three, the rivals'' 'Rivals' may be a corruption of ''Riders'', ''Arrivals'', or ''Wisers'', referring to the three

Magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...

of the Nativity. The suggestion of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

leaves ''the rivals'' unexplained. Perhaps it is not intended to mean 'three competitors' but rather, the 4th century rival philosophical controversies about the trinitarianism: The nature of God as three entities? The rivalry was about which wording could be accepted by a majority, and so would become established as part of the orthodox Christian creed. Another possibility is the trio of

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, James, and

, often mentioned together in the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, who had a dispute "among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest" (Luke 22:24). Pastor Paul Kolch of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sacramento taught that the three referred to

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) are figures from the biblical Book of Daniel, primarily chapter 3. In the narrative, the three Hebrew men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King o ...

, who resisted burning in the fiery furnace and were "rivals" to the Babylonians. This phrase was thus changed to be "Three, three, alive o". Another option is

Yr Eifl Yr Eifl, sometimes called the Rivals in English, is a group of hills on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. On a clear day, the views from the highest summit reach as far as the Isle of Man, the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland ...

, a group of three similar and adjacent mountains in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

called "The Rivals" in English. A classical option is

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, and

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...

, the three goddesses between whom the

Judgement of Paris Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle ...

was made. :''Two, two, the lily-white boys'' :''Clothed all in green, Ho'' Many traditions hold that John the Baptist, like Jesus, was born without

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...

, making them ''the lily-white boys''. "The infant ohn the Baptistleaped in her lizabeth'swomb" (Luke 1:41). This may refer to the story of the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these ...

where

and

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

appear with Jesus in clothes of 'dazzling white'. The ''dressed in green'' would then refer to St. Peter's suggestion that the disciples build shelters of branches for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

suggested that the reference is the defeat at

Yule Yule, actually Yuletide ("Yule time") is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better-known Christmastide. The earliest references to Yule are by way of indi ...

of Holly King by the Oak King. Sharp cites Baring-Gould's suggestion of an astronomical mnemonic, the

Gemini twins Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Norther ...

(

Castor and Pollux Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Z ...

) or "signs for Spring". In support of this, Gemini is the northernmost constellation in the zodiac, therefore high in the winter sky in the northern hemisphere where the

aurora borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

on occasion clothes the heavenly twins in green. Another explanation is that the statues of St. John and

St. Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

which, in traditionally configured

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

churches, flank the crucifix on the altar

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

or the rood screen were bound with rushes to cover them, during

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...

. The two figures were portrayed in similar garments, hence ''lily-white'' oys and wrapped in rushes they were ''clothed all in green''. There is an alternate version: :: ''Two, two, the lily white pair, clothen all in green, Ho'' which may refer to

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

. W.W. Reade implied that the stanza refers to

ovates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovate (, ), are used as technical terms for ancient Celtic bards, prophets and philosophers. The terms correspond to a Proto-Celtic word which can be reconstructed as *''wātis''.Bernhard Maier, ''Dictio ...

, who performed sacrifices for the

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

s. Normally they would be dressed in white, but their sacerdotal robes would be green. According to the writer and folklorist Tom Slemen, such practices were still being performed in secret in the last century, by a cult known as "The Lily White Boys" in the North West of England. :''One is one and all alone'' This appears to refer to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

Variants

Apart from the Notes and Queries and the Hebrew versions already mentioned, the following variants are known.

The Twelve Apostles

A variant, sung in the American

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, is entitled ''The Twelve Apostles''. Its twelfth, cumulated, verse, is: :Come an' I will sing! :What will you sing? :I will sing of twelve. :What of the twelve? :Twelve of the twelve apostles, :Leven of the saints that has gone to Heaven, :Ten of the ten commandments, :Nine of the sunshines bright an' fair, :Eight of the eight archangels, :Seven of the seven stars in the sky, :Six of the cheerful waiters, :Five of the ferrymen in the boat, :Four of the gospel preachers, :Three of them were strangers, :Two of the little white babes :Dressed in the mournin' green.

The Dilly Song

A similar variant is found in

Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...

's ''The Twisted Sword'', the penultimate book in the Poldark series. It is sung by a Cornish choir on Christmas Eve. English folksinger

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

recorded a rendition of "The Dilly Carol" for her 2015 Christmas album '' The Frost is All Over.'' :Come and I will sing you :What will you sing O? :I will sing One O. :What is your One O? :Twelve are the Twelve Apostles :Leven are the 'leven will go to Heaven :Ten are the Ten Commandments :Nine is the moonshine bright and clear :Eight are the Eight Archangels :Seven are the Seven Stars in the sky :Six the Cheerful Waiter :Five is the Ferryman in the boat :Four are the Gospel Praychers :Three of them are strangers :Two of them are Lilly-white babes :Clothed all in green-o :One of them is all alone and ever shall remain so.

Alternative titles

* I'll Sing You One Oh * The Carol of the Twelve Numbers * The Twelve Apostles * The Dilly Song * The Dilly Carol * The Counting Song * Come and I Will Sing You * Stay and I’ll Sing

Related works

* A medical version of the song is featured in the TV Sitcom "Doctor in the House" episode "Keep it Clean" and is sung by students Michael Upton, Duncan Waring, Paul Collier, Dave Briddock, and Huw Evans in the student union bar. * The spiritual "

Children, Go Where I Send Thee "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (alternatively "Children, Go Where I Send You" or variations thereof, also known as "The Holy Baby", "Little Bitty Baby", or "Born in Bethlehem") is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many d ...

" has a similar format, counting down from ten or twelve biblical references. * " Echad Mi Yodea" ("Who Knows One?"), a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

song sung at the end of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Passover seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of isan in the Hebrew ...

, has a very similar structure, counting up to thirteen using biblical and religious references. * The song "The Ten Commandments", on Figgy Duff's album ''After The Tempest'' is a variant, omitting the last two symbols. * A

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defi ...

song titled "High Fly the Nazgûl, Nazgul-O!" uses the same tune but the lyrics have been changed to refer to ''The Lord of the Rings''. * The comedy character Rambling Syd Rumpo sang a parody called "Green Grow My Nadgers, O" on the ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The ...

'' radio comedy programme. * In the Gilbert & Sullivan opera '' The Yeomen of the Guard'', the duet "I Have a Song to Sing, O" was inspired by a variant of this song, beginning "Come, and I will sing you". * In ''The Children of

Green Knowe Green Knowe is a series of six children's novels written by Lucy M. Boston, illustrated by her son Peter Boston, and published from 1954 to 1976. It features a very old house, Green Knowe, based on Boston's home at the time, The Manor in Hemin ...

'', by

Lucy M. Boston Lucy M. Boston (1892–1990), born Lucy Maria Wood, was an English novelist who wrote for children and adults, publishing her work entirely after the age of 60. She is best known for her " Green Knowe" series: six low fantasy children's novels ...

, Tolly sings the first two verses of the song. * In the "Too Many Christmas Trees" episode of the 1960s U.K. TV series '' The Avengers'', Steed sings the first two verses of this song to avoid having his mind influenced by his adversaries with psychic powers. * The

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

kingdom of Ealdormere has a

version of the song, using the tune and the count-down format; the final line is "And one for the land of Ealdormere that ever more shall be so". *

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, ser ...

performed a satirical version as members of a Russian Choir. "Green" was changed to "Red". Memorable lyrics included: "Six for the Common Market / Five pence a mile to drive your car / And four pounds just to park it / Three P for a rotten cup of tea / Tu-tu for women's lib / Now they've burned their bras - O! / One is one, and all alone, and that is Greta Garbo". * The song was very popular at holiday camps up until about the 1970s, where campers would perform actions whilst enthusiastically singing along to each verse. In this version the lyrics to verse 2 were completely changed to "two, two, the same to you; how's your father? he's alright". The only other deviation from the standard lyrics was in verse 5 where "symbols" was replaced with "cymbals" to which campers would bang drink trays together to mimic cymbals. * " Red Fly the Banners, O" is a Marxist-Leninist version of the song. * There is a reference to "the lily-white boy" in

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

's poem " As I Walked Out One Evening". *The song is referred to in the famous Aubrey-Maturin series by

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...

, specifically on pg 271 of ''

Post Captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

''. *Twelve of Anthea Fraser's novels featuring fictional detective David Webb reference lines of the song. *The song is sung by Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols preceding her murder in Alan Moore's ''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

''. Though there is no record of Nichols knowing the song or being known to sing it, Moore admits in his annotations that he included the song to tie into the book's theme of the pagan symbolism of Britain - as well as it being a song likely to be sung by a citizen of London in the 1800s. *A variation of this song using nature references and extending only from one to five is performed by an animated turtle in children's TV show ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

''. *

Jilly Cooper Jilly Cooper, CBE (born 21 February 1937), is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for w ...

's novel ''Rivals'' references the song several times: the three companies are described as the "three rivals" and lines from the song are sung by characters. * The Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea recorded a version titled "Come and I Will Sing You" on their 2005 album ''

The Hard and the Easy ''The Hard and The Easy'' is the seventh studio album by Great Big Sea. It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada and October 25, 2005 in the US. It reached gold status by October 25, 2005. The album is a compilation of traditional Newfound ...

''. * Terry Pratchett's novel ''

Hogfather ''Hogfather'' is the 20th ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee. It was first released in 1996 and published by Victor Gollancz. It came in 137th place in The Big Read, a BBC survey of the most loved ...

'' features two brothers that share the last name "Lilywhite"; the book also contains a fictional holiday carol "The Lilywhite Boys". * The American band R.E.M. wrote a song named "Green Grow the Rushes" that was released in 1985 on their album ''

Fables of the Reconstruction ''Fables of the Reconstruction'', also known as ''Reconstruction of the Fables'', is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on I.R.S. Records on June 10, 1985. The Joe Boyd-produced album was the first recorde ...

''. * Jonathan Stagge's (pseud. see Patrick Quentin) mystery novel ''Death's Old Sweet Song'' (1946) has a series of murders referencing lines of the song. * Australian writer

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''Old Kingdom'', '' Seventh Tower'' and '' Keys to the Kingdom'' series. He has frequently been asked if hi ...

's Old Kingdom book series incorporates a version of the song, as well as the idea of Nine Bright Shiners, into its cosmology. *The song is referenced in Shirley Jackson's novel ''

Hangsaman ''Hangsaman'' is a 1951 gothic novel by American author Shirley Jackson. The second of Jackson's published novels, ''Hangsaman'' is a bildungsroman centering on lonely college freshman Natalie Waite, who descends into madness after enrolling in a ...

.''

Settings and recordings

* Set by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

(as ''The Twelve Apostles'') in 1962 for the

London Boy Singers The London Boy Singers was an English boys' choir which formed in 1961. It initially drew its members from the Finchley Children's Music Group. The choir was started at the suggestion of Benjamin Britten, who was its first president. In the beg ...

. * There is a recording by

Philip Langridge Philip Gordon Langridge (16 December 1939 – 5 March 2010)Millington (7 March 2010) was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio. Early life Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educ ...

and the Wenhaston Boys Choir on #13 from the

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

English Song Series (8.557222 - originally released on Collins Classics) * A version was recorded by King Solomon's Singers, a

vocal ensemble A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

dedicated to the performance of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

and

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of n ...

Notes

References

External links

Summary of literature

A demonstration of the song with the usual tune
{{authority control Christmas carols English folk songs List songs Cumulative songs