====================================================================== = I Saw Three Ships = ====================================================================== Introduction ====================================================================== "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. The song was probably traditionally known as "As I Sat On a Sunny Bank", and was particularly popular in Cornwall. Lyrics and melody ====================================================================== {{image frame|content= \header { tagline = ##f } \paper { paper-width = 140\mm } \layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } } global = { \key as \major \time 6/8 \partial 8 \autoBeamOff } soprano = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "flute" \repeat volta 2 { es8 | as4 as8 bes4 c8 | es4 c8 bes4 des8 | c4 as8 } \alternative { { as4 c8 | bes4 g8 es4 } { as8 bes c bes4. as4 } } \bar "|." } alto = \relative c' { \global \set midiInstrument = "flute" \repeat volta 2 { es8 | c4 c8 des4 es8 | es4 es8 es4 f8 | es4 es8 } \alternative { { es4 es8 es4 es8 es4 } { es8 es es | g4. as4 } } } tenor = \relative c { \global \set midiInstrument = "clarinet" \repeat volta 2 { es8 | as4 as8 as4 as8 | as4 as8 g4 as8 | as4 c8 } \alternative { { c8 (bes) as | g4 bes8 g4 } { c8 bes as | es'4. c4 } } } bass = \relative c { \global \set midiInstrument = "bassoon" \repeat volta 2 { es8 | as4 as,8 as4 as8 | c4 c8 es4 des8 | as'4 as8 } \alternative { { as4 as8 | es4 es8 es4 } { as8 g as | es4. as4 } } } verse = \new Lyrics \lyricmode { \repeat volta 2 \lyricmode { I saw three ships come sail -- ing in on Christ -- mas } \alternative { { day, on Christ -- mas day; } { day in the morn -- ing. } } } \score { \new ChoirStaff << \new Staff << \new Voice = "soprano" { \voiceOne \soprano } \new Voice = "alto" { \voiceTwo \alto } >> \new Lyrics \lyricsto "soprano" \verse \new Staff << \clef bass \new Voice = "tenor" { \voiceOne \tenor } \new Voice = "bass" { \voiceTwo \bass } >> >> \layout { } } \score { \unfoldRepeats { << \soprano \\ \alto \\ \tenor \\ \bass >> } \midi { \tempo 4=112 \context { \Score midiChannelMapping = #'instrument } \context { \Staff \remove "Staff_performer" } \context { \Voice \consists "Staff_performer" } } } Source}} The modern lyrics are from an 1833 version by the English lawyer and antiquarian William Sandys, and consist of nine verses. The lyrics mention the ships sailing into Bethlehem, but the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea about 20 mile 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. Another possible reference is to King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, who bore a coat of arms "Azure three galleys argent". 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 and Janet Blunt noted the tunes and lyrics of dozens of versions, primarily in the south of England. Several traditional recordings have been made of the song. The American folk song collector James Madison Carpenter recorded several slightly different English versions in the early 1930s, all of which can be heard online via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, several recorded in Cornwall and one in Gloucestershire. In 1956, Peter Kennedy recorded a man named John Thomas singing the song in Camborne, Cornwall. 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. Ritchie later recorded the song on her album 'Carols of All Seasons' (1959). 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. 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". Arrangements ====================================================================== An arrangement by Martin Shaw appears in 'The Oxford Book of Carols'. The song appears on Nat King Cole's 1960 album 'The Magic of Christmas'. Other versions ====================================================================== * "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. Other recordings ====================================================================== * English musician Sting recorded a version for the compilation album 'A Very Special Christmas 3' in 1997. * Progressive rock singer Jon Anderson released a version as the title track of his album '3 Ships' in 1985. * Keyboardist Keith Emerson recorded an instrumental rock adaptation on his 'The Christmas Album' (1988). * In 1995, Glen Campbell recorded the song on his Christmas album 'Christmas with Glen Campbell'. * Cyndi Lauper recorded the song on her 1998 Christmas album 'Merry Christmas ... Have a Nice Life'. * Barenaked Ladies recorded the song on their 2004 Christmas album 'Barenaked for the Holidays'. * Sufjan Stevens recorded the song on his 2006 Christmas album 'Songs for Christmas'. * Blackmore's Night recorded the song on their 2006 Christmas-themed album 'Winter Carols'. * Lindsey Stirling released her version on her holiday album 'Warmer in the Winter'. * Celtic Woman released their version on 'Christmas Cards From Ireland' in 2022. See also ====================================================================== * List of Christmas carols External links ====================================================================== * * * Free sheet music for [http://cantorion.org/music/144/I%20Saw%20Three%20Ships piano], [http://cantorion.org/music/146/I%20Saw%20Three%20Ships voice] and [http://cantorion.org/music/145/I%20Saw%20Three%20Ships SATB] from 'Cantorion.org' * [https://www.carols.org.uk/i_saw_three_ships.htm "Lyrics"], carols.org.uk License ========= All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_Three_Ships .