I Saw Three Ships
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I saw three ships come sailin' in
On Christmas day, on Christmas day
I saw three ships come sailin' in
On Christmas day in the morning

And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas day, on Christmas day
And what was in those ships all three
On Christmas day in the morning

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
On Christmas day, on Christmas day
The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
On Christmas day in the morning





Well, I played terrible
Did you?

Overall Meaning

"I Saw Three Ships" is a traditional English Christmas carol that has been adapted and rearranged by several modern artists such as Sufjan Stevens. The song describes the sighting of three ships sailing into port on Christmas Day in the morning. The lyrics raise the question of what is inside the ships, and the answer is revealed in the next stanza: "The Virgin Mary and Christ were there."


The phrase "I saw three ships" is a reference to the wise men's journey to visit Jesus, as described in the story of the Nativity in the Bible. The three ships might symbolize the three wise men or Magi who brought gifts to Jesus, although this is not explicitly stated in the song. The closing verse, "God bless the ruler of this house, And all that dwell therein," is likely a reference to traditional wassailing, a British Yuletide custom in which people visited their neighbors' homes to sing and wish them good spirits for the coming year.


The song is believed to date back to the 17th century and was popular among sailors, who would sing it on board their ships during the Christmas season. Over time, "I Saw Three Ships" became a standard Christmas carol, with many versions incorporating different melodies, vocal arrangements, and instrumentations. Sufjan Stevens's version, for instance, omits the final verse and features acoustic guitar, piano, organ, and choral harmonies.


Line by Line Meaning

I saw three ships come sailin' in
The singer saw three ships sailing in


On Christmas day, on Christmas day
This event occurred on Christmas Day


I saw three ships come sailin' in
The singer saw the same three ships again


On Christmas day in the morning
The event occurred during the morning of Christmas Day


And what was in those ships all three
The artist is curious what was in the three ships


On Christmas day, on Christmas day
This event occurred on Christmas Day


And what was in those ships all three
The singer repeats their curiosity about the contents of the ships


On Christmas day in the morning
The event occurred during the morning of Christmas Day


The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
The ships contained the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus


On Christmas day, on Christmas day
This event occurred on Christmas Day


The Virgin Mary and Christ were there
The singer repeats that the ships contained the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus


On Christmas day in the morning
The event occurred during the morning of Christmas Day


Well, I played terrible
This line is not related to the rest of the song and does not contribute to its meaning


Did you?
This line is not related to the rest of the song and does not contribute to its meaning




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Sufjan Stevens

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

sgroeche

On christmas evening two years ago, I asked my girlfirend to marry me. Last year, we had our (then 3 month old) son next to us watching the tree. Yesterday, my son and I went christmas shopping. Your song accompanied all of that.

I so much adore this song. Thank you for making that ♥

Annalisa Sauter

This is one of my nostalgic favourites.

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