The date of this Christmas song's first performance is not known, though it was used in European and Scandinavian traditions as early as the 16th century. Some music historians believe that the "gifts" in the song carry secret meanings, possibly constructed by either 16th century Protestant Christians, or Roman Catholics who were being persecuted. One version of the hidden meanings is:
The 'partridge in a pear tree' is Jesus Christ
The 'two turtle doves' are the Old and New Testaments
The 'three French hens' are the three virtues, faith, hope, and love
The 'four calling birds' are the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Five golden rings' are the first five books of the Bible, or the Pentateuch
'Six geese a-laying' refer to the six days of the Creation
Seven swans a-swimming' are the seven sacraments
'Eight maids a-milking' are the eight Beatitudes
'Nine ladies dancing' are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
'Ten lords a' leaping' are the Ten Commandments
'Eleven pipers piping' are the eleven faithful Apostles
'Twelve drummers drumming' are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed.
This song has endured thanks to various comedic versions that have become popular over the years, in part because it's a traditional song that can be performed and recorded without obtaining rights. The first popular non-traditional take on the song was Richard Gregory's 1950 version. The Muppets did it with Miss Piggy giving her diva treatment to the "five gold rings" line. Bob Rivers turned it into "The Twelve Pains of Christmas" with lyrics reflecting holiday annoyances ("batteries not included", "rigging up these lights").
Bob & Doug McKenzie put a Canadian slant on the song, capping it with "a beer." Jeff Foxworthy did "Redneck 12 Days Of Christmas, and Harry Belafonte recorded a Calypso version. You can even get a Chipmunks version and an Italian stereotype "guido" version by the How You Doin'? Boys. Popular traditional recordings of the song were done by usual suspects of Christmas songs: Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Ray Conniff, The Allisons and John Denver.
A live version of this by Straight No Chaser reached the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the first time that this Christmas song has ever appeared on the AC list. Among the numerous songs it samples is Toto's "Africa."
Straight No Chaser are a 10-man a cappella group who originally recorded this traditional Christmas song in 1997 while undergraduates at Indiana University. In 2007 one of the groups founders Randy Stine uploaded the song's 10-year-old video to YouTube and after receiving 9 million hits, they were given a five album deal by Atlantic Records.
No comments:
Post a Comment