The Twelve Days of Christmas
Mino Cinelu & Dianne Reeves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A partridge in a pear tree.
[On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two turtledoves
[And a partridge in a pear tree.]
On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves,]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,]
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
[Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me]
[Ten lords a-leaping,]
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
[Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[I sent eleven pipers piping,]
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
[On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me]
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,]
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
And a partridge in a pear tree.
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsty.com/lyrics/b/bing_crosby/#share
The song "Twelve Days of Christmas" is a popular Christmas carol that tells the story of a series of gifts being given by someone's true love over the 12 days of Christmas. The gifts start small with the first day's present being a partridge in a pear tree, and gradually get bigger and more elaborate until the 12th day when the recipient receives twelve drummers drumming. Along the way, the lyrics also mention turtledoves, French hens, geese, calling birds, golden rings, swans, and ladies dancing.
The song is often considered a cumulative song, meaning that each verse repeats the gifts from the previous days, in addition to introducing the new gift for that day. This creates a fun and catchy tune that encourages people to sing along and try to keep up with all the repeating lyrics.
The lyrics can also be interpreted as having religious significance, with some people believing that each gift symbolizes something meaningful. For example, the partridge in a pear tree is said to represent Jesus, while the two turtledoves may represent the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible. Another interpretation suggests that the gifts were used as a way to secretly teach children about the Christian faith during a time when it was illegal to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
My beloved gave me a partridge enclosed in a pear tree branches on the first day of Christmas.
Two turtledoves
[And a partridge in a pear tree.]
My true love added two turtledoves to the partridge in a pear tree as a gift on the second day of the twelve days of Christmastide.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the third day of Christmas, my beloved sent me three French hens, in addition to the two turtledoves and partridge in a pear tree from the previous days.
[On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
As per tradition, on the fourth day, my true love sent four calling birds in addition to the previous presents of three French hens, two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree.
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the fifth day, the gift was five golden rings added to the previous presents of four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves,]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the sixth day of the twelve days of seasonal celebration, my beloved surprised me with six geese a-laying along with the previous gifts from days one through five.
[On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On day seven of Christmastide, my true love presented to me seven swans a-swimming along with gifts from the preceding six days.
[On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,]
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
As per tradition, on the eighth day of Christmas, eight maids a-milking were added to the previous day's gifts of seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
[Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the ninth day of Christmastide, my love gave me the gift of nine ladies dancing. This was in addition to the items gifted from the previous days, which included eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
[Ten lords a-leaping,]
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
[Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On day ten of the twelve days of Christmas, my true love bestowed upon me ten lords a-leaping along with the presents from the preceding nine days.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
[I sent eleven pipers piping,]
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,]
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
The gift on the eleventh day of the seasonal celebration comprised eleven pipers piping, along with the ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree received earlier.
[On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me]
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,]
Nine ladies dancing,
[Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,]
Six geese a-laying,
[Five golden rings.] Five golden rings
[Four calling birds,]
Three French hens,
[Two turtledoves]
And a partridge in a pear tree.
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Finally, on the twelfth day of Christmastide, my beloved gifted me twelve drummers drumming to accompany the previously received presents, which included eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
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