"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.
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.
Jean Ritchie, a musician from the Appalachian Mountains, was recorded by Alan Lomax in 1949 singing a traditional version learned 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] While 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]
When they were 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]
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]
