TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: THE EARLIER VERSIONS

The second worst Christmas song ever – “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – was first published in English in 1780. As the carol grew in popularity throughout the 19th century, numerous variations of its lyrics began to emerge. Here are some of the gifts that used to be part of the song:
– 1892 Scotland: “A Very Pretty Peacock” instead of “a partridge in a pear tree”
– Mid-1800’s: “Four colour’d birds” and “Four curley birds” and “Four canary birds”
– 1869 England: “Eight hares a-running” and “Eleven badgers baiting.”
– Early 1900’s America: “Seven squabs a-swimming,” “Eight hounds a-running,” “Nine bears a-beating,” And “Ten cocks a-crowing”
– 1911 Somerset, New York version: “Ten asses racing,” “Eleven bulls a-beating,” and “Part of a mistletow bough”
– 1842 in an English poetry book: “Ten ships a-sailing” and “Eleven ladies spinning.”
– 1847 Scotland: “A bull that was brown,” “A goose that was gray,” “Three plovers,” “A papingo-aye” (an old Scots dialect word for peacock) and “An Arabian baboon.”
* So, the song could have been this:
♪♫ On the 12th Day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
12 Ladies spinning
11 Badgers baiting
10 Cocks a-crowing
9 Bears a-beating
8 Hares a-running
7 Squabs a-swimming
6 Asses racing
A goose that was gray….
4 Canary birds
3 Plovers
A very pretty peacock.
One Ara-be-ee-annn baboon! ♫