Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 15 · Old English Folk Carols · Page 29 in print
The Twelve Days
In the children’s book Mirth without Mischief the verses are headed “Sung at King Pepin’s Ball,” and the fourth day’s gift is four colly birds rather than calling birds.
Jump to a word
The words
Austin
Frederic Austin, whose 1909 arrangement fixed the familiar tune.
Colly Birds
The fourth day’s gift, an old name for blackbirds.
Mirth without Mischief (opens a new tab) · Husk, Songs of the Nativity (opens a new tab)
Drummers
The ninth day’s gift in the early text.
French Hens
The third day’s gift.
Geese
The sixth day’s gift, geese a-laying.
Gold Rings
The fifth day’s gift.
King Pepin
The king named in the early heading, Sung at King Pepin’s Ball.
Leaping Lords
The twelfth day’s gift.
Milkmaids
The eighth day’s gift, maids a-milking.
Newcastle
City where broadsides of the song were printed.
Partridge
The first day’s gift, in a pear tree.
Pear Tree
The tree in which the partridge sits.
Pipers
The tenth day’s gift in the early text.
Swans
The seventh day’s gift, swans a-swimming.
Turtle Doves
The second day’s gift.
Sources
- IMSLP Petrucci Music Library, ‘12 Days of Christmas (Austin, Frederic)’ work pageIMSLP
- Mirth without Mischief (London: J. Davenport for C. Sheppard, Clerkenwell, c. 1780–1800); Internet Archive scan from the Gale ECCO print edition, OCR textInternet Archive
- William Henry Husk (ed.), Songs of the Nativity (London: John Camden Hotten); Internet Archive scan (UCLA), catalogue date [1884?]Internet Archive