Green Grow the Rushes, O

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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"

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Grow_the_Rushes,_O



Do you know that song?

And have you got an explanation for it?

And here are the words:

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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,[b]
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,
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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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Grow_the_Rushes,_O


Quite intriguing, isn't it?

Nobody knows this song?
A pity ....

The British GUARDIAN tries to explain:

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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".

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Here is a good interpretation:

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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).

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https://www.theguardian.com/notesandquer...,,-1866,00.html

[Video]http://www.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqKGVqe53K8[/Video]

Another way to sing it!

And who are the Rivals?

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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.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Grow_the_Rushes,_O

Somebody else loves this song as well!

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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.

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https://wonderful-things.org/2013/09/16/...-the-rushes-ho/

This song is well-known in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Not so much in Germany.

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