Green grow the rushes O


I'll sing you one-o 
Green grow the rushes-o 
What is your one-o 
One is one and all alone and evermore shall be so 

Two two the lily-white boys clothed all in green-o 

Three three the rivals 

Four for the gospel makers 

Five for the symbols at your door 

Six for the six proud walkers 

Seven for the seven stars in the sky 

Eight for the April rainers 

Nine for the nine bright shiners 

Ten for the ten commandments 

Eleven for the eleven that went to heaven 

Twelve for the twelve apostles
--

(Note from the donor, Veronica Biggs: )

I've done some research on this, on a strictly curious level, and have found out the following: 

The lily-white boys are the holly and the ivy 
The three rivals are three mountains in Wales that are close together and look a lot alike 
The symbols at your door are pentagrams placed there to ward off evil 
The proud walkers are members of Saxon war bands who marched around the camps on the eve of battle banging shields with spears while on stilts 
The seven stars refers to the Pliaedes constellation 
The nine bright shiners refers to the phases of the moon 
The eleven who went to heaven are all the apostles minus Judas Iscariot 

The April rainers remain a mystery to me, and the others are obvious Biblical references. 

However, I have no idea of the significance of any of this, except that it appears to be an attempt to preserve some pagan
symbolism in the face of overwhelming Christianity. 

If you have found out anything, please let me know. 
This song has been a hobby of mine for many years; off and off and on,
and my searches for its meaning have led me down many an interesting garden path! 

Veronica Biggs 
verobiggs@hotmail.com
(Thank you Veronica for contributing this!)