Folklore buffs, historians, scholars, and all sorts of folks that been trying to decipher this Christmas carol. It goes back to the 18th century, and probably farther than that. Over the years, the lyrics changed again and again. The carol was popular in many different countries, and each country had its own version. England, Scotland, France, Iceland… just to name a few.
Sung here by Ray Conniff with the Ray Conniff singers.
I used to get a kick out of thiis old song, but hadn’t heard it or thought about it in years. Kind of fun to hear again.
I have always wondered about that song. Twelve days of Christmas, what’s the reason for 12 days? What’s the significance of a partridge in a pear tree? How does that go “Five maids a milking…” Anyway, I do like that song.
The Ray Conniff singers always did a nice job with any song they sung. I wondered how long ago he and his group was popular.
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
I have always loved his big 1966 hit song “Somewhere My Love.”
I have always read that when Roman Catholicism was outlawed in Protestant England, this song and its lyrics were written as code for Catholic teaching for their children. The Patridge tree is Christ, two turtle doves the old and new Testaments, three French hens the Trinity, four calling birds the four Gospels, etc. This song is such much fun to sing around a piano with a group of friends.