The lyrics of the song are in many places extremely obscure, and present an unusual mixture of Christian catechesis, astronomical mnemonics, and what may be pagan cosmology. 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 twelfth, cumulated, verse runs:
I'll sing you twelve, O[a]
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.[c]
Seven for the seven stars in the sky,[d]
Six for the six proud walkers,[e]
Five for the symbols at your door,[f]
Four for the Gospel makers,
Three, three, the rivals,
Two, two, the lily-white boys,
Clothed all in green, O[g]
One is one and all alone[h]
And evermore shall be so.
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The twelve stanzas may be interpreted as follows:
"Twelve for the twelve Apostles"
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[citation needed]. Sharp states that there were no variants of this line.[1]
"Eleven for the eleven who went to heaven"
These are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful (minus Judas Iscariot),[1] or possibly St Ursula and her companions.
"Ten for the ten commandments"
This refers to the ten commandments given to Moses.
"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, or it may refer to the nine orders of angels. 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".[1]
"Eight for the April Rainers"
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. Or this may refer to the rains of Noah's Flood.
Can anyone explain the words of the song, 'Green Grow the Rushes-O'? Several of the references are obviously biblical, but who were the lilywhite boys, the rivals, the proud walkers, and the April rainers? What were the symbols at your door, the bright shiners, and the seven stars in the sky?
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THE DILLY SONG, as it was once known, is one of the most mysterious oral folk songs. Versions were found in German, Flemish, Scots, Breton, Medieval Latin, Hebrew, Moravian, Greek and French traditions. The song is clearly religious, but not originally Christian. The more traditional versions have only 10 verses; the other two have been added to bring it in line with the 12 apostles. Any definitive list explaining each verse would be misleading. In his book, Where is Saint George? ... Pagan Imagery in English Folksong, Bob Stewart devotes some 6,000 words to this song alone, but draws no conclusions as to which version is "correct".
Here's what I seem to remember from childhood: the nine bright shiners are the eight other planets in the solar system plus the moon; the eight paraders are the eight Pagan holy days (equinoxes, solstices and cross quarter days); the six proud walkers are pallbearers (I was never sure whose coffin they carried); the five symbols are earth, water, air, fire, and spirit (the points of the pentagram); the three rivals are the Magi; and the two boys are the Holly King and the Oak King (although in the version the older kids taught me, they were "little wild boys," not "lily-white boys," because all of us children were berry-brown and not lily-white. Which is just an example of people interpreting and understanding this wonderful song in the way that makes the most sense for them).
I had a songbook when I was a kid that contained this tune. It said that the term “gringo” used by Mexicans came from their hearing US troops sing this song in the Mexican war.
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'Rivals' may be a corruption of "Riders", "Arrivals", or "Wisers", referring to the three Magi of the Nativity.[1] The suggestion of the Trinity leaves "the rivals" unexplained. Perhaps it is not intended to mean "3 competitive rivals" but rather, the 4th century rival philosophical controversies about the trinitarianism: the nature of God as 3 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[4][5]. Another possibility is the trio of Peter, James and John, often mentioned together in the Gospels, 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, who resisted burning in the fiery furnace and were "rivals" to the Babylonians. Another option is Yr Eifl, a group of three similar and adjacent mountains in Wales called "The Rivals" in English. A classical option is Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the three goddesses between whom the Judgement of Paris was made.
I wanted to share a fantastic English folk song common in Somerset and the Westcountry which I recently learned. It’s really difficult to get out of your head once started and its great for making long car journey’s fly by!
It’s called Green Grow The Rush, O! though is sometimes referred to as The Twelve Prophets or The Ten Commandments. The lyrics of the song are in quite obscure, with an unusual mixture of Christian, astronomical and pagan symbols, all wrapped up in a mnemonic to remember them by.
Who has ever heard it?
Me. We sang it now and again in music lessons at school.
I've always enjoyed the song and my family sang it frequently, in harmony. It was also a common camp song in my youth. My sisters had explanations for all of the references, although I can't remember them. I've always thought that, like most Christian traditions, it was "borrowed" and bastardized to conform to Christian theology.
Green grow the rushes oh.
I'll sing you twelve ho.
Green grow the rushes oh.
What is the twelve oh?
12 for the Twelve Apostles.
11 for the 11 that went to Heaven.
10 for the Ten Commandments.
9 for the 9 bright shiners.
8 for the 8 bold rangers.
7 for the 7 stars in the sky.
6 for the 6 proud walkers.
5 for the symbols at your door.
4 for the gospel makers.
3, 3, the rivals.
2, 2, the lily white boys clothed all in green oh.
One is one and all alone and evermore shall be so.
And here is the text again.
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