North American folk music has already yielded classic carols such as “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and “Away in a Manger.”. [2] Another possible reference is to Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, who bore a coat of arms "Azure three galleys argent". Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. What is the true meaning of the three ships in the Christmas song I Saw Three Ships - trivia question /questions answer / answers The lyrics mention the ships sailing into Bethlehem, but the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea about 20 miles (32 km) away. “Maybe there are a few, I don't know. 1. The main refrain is used as the outro for the, Three ships appear as an instrumental version of, This page was last edited on 14 September 2020, at 17:18. Bethlehem then, as now, is landlocked. Carols were sung on sidewalks and in the marketplace, in homes and in taverns. [4] The Carols for Choirs series of carol books features arrangements of the carol by both Sir David Willcocks and John Rutter. According to folk tradition, the relics made their journey from Bethlehem to Cologne in three ships. "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. All rights reserved. According to folk tradition, the relics made their journey from Bethlehem to Cologne in three ships. View by: Highest Rated; Most Recent; Oldest First; 0. I Saw Three Ships is a multifandom Secret Santa focused on threesomes.. Transcending our Temptations: Advice from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Ships and boats, however, do figure in the story of Jesus; they are mentioned more than 50 times in the New Testament alone. I saw three ships come sailing in, on Christmas Day in the morning.” It asked, “And what was in those ships all three?” The answer was the Holy Family, or “Our Savior Christ and His lady.” The carol asked, “And where they sailed those ships all three?” The obvious answer: “All they sailed in to Bethlehem.”. Advertisement "I Saw Three Ships" Lyrics . [citation needed] The song appears on Nat King Cole's 1960 album The Magic of Christmas (l/k/a "The Christmas Song"), arranged by Ralph Carmichael. An arrangement by Martin Shaw appears in the Oxford Book of Carols. As long as people gather to celebrate Christmas together, they will produce new carols and pass along classics to future generations, said Kenneth W. Osbeck, author of 101 Hymn Stories and many similar books. When it came time for Christmas festivals, few drew a stark line between sacred and secular. “The dance could be trivial, but the church would spiritualize it,” noted Routley. Carols just spring up among the people and it's common to find many different versions handed down from generation to generation.”. Catholic Exchange is a project of Sophia Institute Press. "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. This carol is also featured in the musical Caroline, or Change, but as a counterpoint. A true carol is something like 'I Saw Three Ships' or 'The First Noel.' The logic may escape singers today. Weird & Wacky, Copyright © 2020 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. Joy could be selfish and frantic, but the church would make it sane.”, This happened in many cultures, from the festive Christmas carols of Latin America to the rousing Russian “kolyadki,” which were shared by carolers who gladly accepted food, drink and coins as they moved from house to house. Adapted by Jon Schmidt on Jon Schmidt Christmas album. “Even if we say that to all general purposes today a carol is a cheerful seasonal song…we shall never understand its extraordinary history if we forget that it began not as a pious religious gesture but as a dance,” he wrote. © Copyright 2020 Catholic Exchange. [3] 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". As minstrels kept singing the songs, the destination changed and so did the identity of the travelers. The result was a carol: “I saw three ships come sailing in, on Christmas day on Christmas day. "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. sort form. 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.. Many of them are very, very old,” said scholar Hugh T. McElrath, author of The History of Our Christian Faith In Hymns: “Hymns tend to be more formal and church-centered and from a particular composer in a particular place and time.