I Saw Three Ships

"I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is an English Christmas carol, listed as number 700 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William Sandys in 1833.[1][2] The song was probably traditionally known as "As I Sat On a Sunny Bank",[3] and was particularly popular in Cornwall.

I Saw Three Ships
GenreChristmas
LanguageEnglish
Published1833 (1833)

Lyrics

The modern lyrics are from an 1833 version by the English lawyer and antiquarian William Sandys, and consist of nine verses.

I saw three ships come sailing in
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
I saw three ships come sailing in
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

And what was in those ships all three,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day?
And what was in those ships all three,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning?

Our Saviour Christ and his lady,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
Our Saviour Christ and his lady,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

Pray whither sailed those ships all three,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day?
Pray whither sailed those ships all three,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning?

O they sailed into Bethlehem,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
O they sailed into Bethlehem,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the bells on earth shall ring,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
And all the Angels in Heaven shall sing,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

And all the Souls on Earth shall sing,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
And all the Souls on Earth shall sing,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

Then let us all rejoice amain,
⁠On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
Then let us all rejoice amain,
⁠On Christmas day in the morning.

The lyrics mention the ships sailing into Bethlehem, but the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea about 20 miles (32 km) away. The reference to three ships is thought to originate in the three ships that bore the purported relics of the Biblical magi to Cologne Cathedral in the 12th century.[2] Another possible reference is to Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, who bore a coat of arms "Azure three galleys argent".[4] Another suggestion is that the ships are actually the camels used by the Magi, as camels are frequently referred to as "ships of the desert".

Traditional recordings and collected versions

Countless traditional versions of the song have been collected. Many different melodies were used, as is typical of traditional folk songs including Christmas carols. In the 1910s, the English folklorists Cecil Sharp[5] and Janet Blunt[6] noted the tunes and lyrics of dozens of versions, primarily in the south of England.

Several traditional recordings have been made of the song The American folk song collector James Madison Carpenter recorded several slightly different English versions in the early 1930s, all of which can be heard online via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, several recorded in Cornwall[7][8][9][10] and one in Gloucestershire.[11] In 1956, Peter Kennedy recorded a man named John Thomas singing the song in Camborne, Cornwall.[12]

The famous Appalachian musician Jean Ritchie was recorded by Alan Lomax in 1949 singing a traditional version learnt from her Kentucky family (whose ancestors seemingly brought the song from England), which can be heard courtesy of the Alan Lomax archive.[13] Ritchie later recorded the song on her album 'Carols of All Seasons' (1959).[14] Whilst Jean Ritchie's family version is the only traditional American version to be recorded, the song was known to be present in the United States in previous decades, particularly in the south.[15]

Whilst collecting folk songs in the British Isles in 1952, Jean Ritchie and her husband George Pickow encountered the Irish traditional singer Elizabeth Cronin in Macroom, County Cork, who sang a version called "The Bells of Heaven".[16]

Arrangements

An arrangement by Martin Shaw appears in the Oxford Book of Carols.[17] The Carols for Choirs series of carol books features arrangements of the carol by both Sir David Willcocks and John Rutter. Organist Simon Preston and former conductor of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger, have also written arrangements that the choir have performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in recent years. There is also a more recent choral arrangement by British composer Richard Fox. This carol is also featured in the musical Caroline, or Change, but as a counterpoint. Adapted by Jon Schmidt on Jon Schmidt Christmas album. John Renbourn has arranged it (in a rather free adaptation) for guitar. The song appears on Nat King Cole's 1960 album The Magic of Christmas (l/k/a "The Christmas Song"), arranged by Ralph Carmichael.

Other versions
Illustration for three pretty girls in the ship entertaining at a wedding held on New Year's Day in a children's book
  • "I saw three ships come sailing by on New Year's Day" is a 19th-century version, which mentions three pretty girls in the ship entertaining at a wedding held on New Year's Day.[18]

Other recordings

See also

References
  1. Cecil James Sharp (2008) The Morris Book: With a Description of Dances as Performed by the Morris Men
  2. Website describing the carol and giving secondary references
  3. "Ballads Online". ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  4. Camden Roll, dated c.1280, entry 11 and Heralds' Roll, dated c.1280 entry 18.
  5. "Search: RN700 Cecil Sharp". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
  6. "Search: RN700 Janet Blunt". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
  7. "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing (VWML Song Index SN16774)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  8. "I Sat on a Sunny Bank (VWML Song Index SN16758)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  9. "As I Sat on a Sunny Bank (VWML Song Index SN16728)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  10. "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing (VWML Song Index SN16765)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  11. "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing By (VWML Song Index SN16800)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  12. "I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing in (Roud Folksong Index S178912)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  13. "Alan Lomax Archive". research.culturalequity.org. Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  14. "I Saw Three Ships (Roud Folksong Index S304348)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  15. "Search: RN700 USA". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
  16. "The Bells of Heaven (Roud Folksong Index S228692)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  17. The Oxford Book of Carols (1928) p.36.
  18. Crane, Walter (1877). The Baby's Opera: A Book of Old Rhymes with New Dresses. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  19. Connolly, Dave. "Jon Anderson: Three Ships: AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  20. "The Christmas Album". Amazon.com. 2000. Retrieved 2016-12-24.
  21. Katrina Rees, "ALBUM REVIEW: Lindsey Stirling – ‘Warmer In The Winter’,", CelebMix, October 19, 2017
  22. Christmas Cards From Ireland, 2022-11-04, retrieved 2022-12-06

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