I saw three ships
I Saw Three Ships ( I saw three ships on the sea / Three ships came across the sea ) is a popular traditional Christmas carol from England .
The earliest printed version is from the 17th century , possibly from Derbyshire , and it was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833. The text speaks of three ships sailing to Bethlehem .
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Edits
There are numerous arrangements and recordings of this song. An arrangement by Martin Shaw is included in the Oxford Book of Carols . The Carols for Choirs includes an arrangement by David Willcocks . The organist Simon Preston and former director of the choir of King's College of Cambridge Philip Ledger have also written arrangements, at the ceremony of the choir Nine Lessons and Carols has been listed in recent years. The drum rhythm of the attackers in Black Water Bay in the TV series "Game of thrones" is also borrowed from this song.
Web links
- The Hymns and Carols of Christmas
- Sound sample 1 ( Simon Preston ), 2 ( David Willcocks ), 3 ( John Rutter ), 4 (Robert Shaw) 5 ( Jacob Collier )
References and footnotes
- ↑ Cecil James Sharp (2008) The Morris Book: With a Description of Dances as Performed by the Morris Men
- ↑ But the closest body of water, the Dead Sea , is over 20 km 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." (en.wikipedia, article: I Saw Three Ships , according to: hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com )
- ↑ en.wikisource.org
- ↑ see also sound examples
- ↑ The Oxford Book of Carols (1928) p.36.