The Twelve Apostles

English Traditional
Dorsetshire

Compare: The Ten Commandments (different version of the same song)

Contrast: The Twelve Apostles - A Different Song from Sharp
The Twelve Apostles (From A Good Christmas Box)

Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland, English Country Songs. London: The Leadenhall Press, 1893.

 

1.

1ST Voice. Come, I will sing to you.

2ND Voice. What will you sing to me?

1ST Voice. I will sing you one oh!

2ND Voice. What may your one oh be?

1ST Voice. One and one is all alone, and evermore shall be so.

 

2.

1ST Voice. Come, I will sing to you.

2ND Voice. What will you sing to me?

1ST Voice. I will sing you two oh!

2ND Voice. What may your two oh be?

1ST Voice. Two of them are lilywhite babes, Clothed all in green oh!

BOTH, One and one is all alone, and evermore shall be so.

 

3.

1ST Voice. Come, I will sing to you.

2ND Voice. What will you sing to me?

1ST Voice. I will sing you three oh!

2ND Voice. What may your three oh be?

1ST Voice. Three of them are thrivers,

BOTH. Two of them are lilywhite babes, Clothed all in green oh !
One and one is all alone, and evermore shall be so.

Notes:

These three verses indicate the plan of the song, each new number being followed by the whole of those that have gone before, sung by both voices. The other numbers are as follows :—

Four are the Gospel preachers.

Five are the flamboys all in a row.

Six are the six bold waiters.

Seven are the Seven stars in the sky.

Eight are the Gabriel angels.

Nine and nine of the brightest shine.

Ten are the ten commandèments.

Eleven and eleven went to heaven.

Twelve are the twelve apostles.

(From the Rev. W. Miles Barnes, Monkton.)

For the later numbers, only the two notes, D and F, are given. It is suggested that these should be accompanied by the two different harmonies given under Nos. 3 and 4. Before discussing the various versions of the words, and their interpretations, it will be well to give a version of words and music which is traditional in King’s College, Cambridge. A variant of the same music is given by a correspondent in The Musical Herald for October, 1891, and said to have been sung by a Scotchman. In the letter a "minor tune” is referred to as belonging to a Norfolk version. This may not impossibly be identical with the Dorsetshire version given above (Green Grow the Rushes).

Sheet Music from Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland, English Country Songs. London: The Leadenhall Press, 1893.

Editor's Note:

See the notes under Green Grow the Rushes for an extensive discussion of the imagery in this carol. See also the general discussion under The Twelve Days of Christmas - Version 1.

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