GREENLEAF MAGAZINE
THE BATTLE OF THE FOLKWAYS
"Green Grow The Rushes Oh!" This can hardly be a Winter song, although it has been sung at Christmas, more like some Summer festival, July or August, when rushes are cut for basket work. But the words of this living folk song are most curious. "One is one and all alone, and ever more shall be". This is deep number theory as it might have been sung to harmonious intervals in a school of Pythagoras. To a mediaeval mind it would equate to God Himself. I can't argue with that. "Two two the Lily White Boys all dressed in Green Ho! Ho!" is curiously pagan and obscure. "Three three the Rivals" is obvious human psychology, "when three meet together, doubts arise among them", says the I Ching. "Four for the Gospel Writers" is blatantly Christian, but "Ringo, Paul, George and John, Bless the bed that I lie on", they do have rivals for hearts and minds. "Five for the Symbols at my door" means not five symbols, which would be too erudite, too occult for the popular mind, but pentacles, more than one just to make sure, in case of the evil eye. "Six for the six proud walkers" is obscure but must have a historical reference. "Seven for the bright stars in the sky" refers to the planets, as likely as to the Pleaides, called the Seven Sisters, or some other astronomical phenomenon. "Eight for the April Rainers" is so bizarre it provokes debate there's been some corruption of the word. But it could also be astronomical, referring to the Hyades. "Nine for the nine bright shiners" might be astronomical again (the Sun, Moon and planets), "Ten for the Ten Commandments" requires no elaboration, "Eleven for those who went to Heaven" is also Christian and is interpreted as the Apostles minus Judas, or as St Ursula and eleven martyred virgins. Eleven thousand is probably an exaggeration caused by mistaking MM in an old manuscript as thousands. Perhaps MM meant martyrs. In this case the folk song, the oral tradition got it right and the scholars misinterpreted the story. Another version is there was an inscription "Ursula et Undecimilla, Virgines" which was misinterpreted. "Twelve for the twelve apostles" completes the round of twelve, itself a folksong tradition. We have a song for the Twelve Days of Christmas. Perhaps twelve stations of the Cross. Twelve months. Twelve signs of the Zodiac. At the end of the day it is The Lily White Boys who cause us most surprise, who are they? One suggestion is the holly and the ivy, but the holly berry is red, the ivy berry is black, while they are "dressed in green" neither is "lily white". Also pagan custom apparently was, the holly and ivy were male and female, so they could not both be "boys". Perhaps we are talking mistletoe, and some antiquated druidic rite? Robert Graves thought it referred to the Holly King and Oak King who battle for the Goddess at Mayday, but no, that's surely "The Rivals" No 3. The Lily White Boys are two because they are a pair, they do not fight, being "lily white" in any sense (cowardly, pure, virgin &c.) they should not fight. The words of course pass into modern folk speech as a comment jocular or hateful upon the racial or macho divides, especially in America, they're "Lily White Boys" implies, rich, white, shielded from experience of the world, or white, ironically putting up with black attack in some way. And the writers of these polemics, black or white skinned, learnt the lyrics from Scout Camp or College Frat or from a Christian background. The Christian version of Two is the Old and New Testaments, perhaps in some mediaeval pageant these were boys dressed up, but unless there's historical evidence this actually happened, I'd consider this implausible. More likely this version of this song, which despite its appearance on the internet, is still orally transmitted, by some of the methods noted, is a folk version. Folk culture changes, but is resistant to deliberate change by any perceived authority. For example what parents (who were once children) and children do at Halloween or at Christmas is not christian, and the churches moan from time to time, ineffectually, and it is certainly not pagan, in the sense of grown-up mainstream, or other traditions, of people who call themselves pagans. This is folk culture which stubbornly survives even long after its meaning and purpose is long forgotten. We need to study what seasonal activities ordinary children get up to. They didn't invent them, they learnt them from other children, and from their parents, who did them when they were children. Now perhaps, in this case, only the song goes on, its strange obscurity adding to its instėinctive attraction even though the event it perhaps celebrated, no longer takes place. The obscurity of this old song can be glimpsed by considering "The six proud walkers", this is certainly a reference not familiar to anyone today. It is suggested "The six proud walkers" were members of a Saxon warband who belligerently beat the bounds of their fortified camp in a traditional way. If this is historically accurate we're talking somewhere between 450AD and 1066AD before English as we know it was spoken. Was the reference remembered in oral history long after these dates? I'm assuming oral tradition transcends the boundaries of changes in language, and why not, if those changes are organic, popular and gradual? The other explanation for "The six proud walkers" at least has a literary source, The Bible, Ezekiel 9 v2 where six men with swords come, in the very troubled vision of the prophet, to slaughter the people, whose leaders (8 v16) have committed such abominations as turning East to worship the Sun, and possibly we might think, more seriously, "they have filled the land with violence", and therefore (God says) "mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." So indeed it may be today, in Iraq, in Israel, in Palestine, as if nothing has changed since 500BC. But whether this could be the origin of the words of an English folksong is doubtful. Rather that Christian theologians want to own The Green Rushes campfire song, and Pagan theologians are equal to the temptation, but neither is likely to "succeed" in imposing their will on the people, who have their own perpetual way called "folklore". References: First Second Third .
Click here to go to PADRAS/Stonehenge site Click for information about Robin's Greenwood Gang Click here to return to RGG home page

GREENLEAF MAGAZINE

THE BATTLE OF THE FOLKWAYS

"Green Grow The Rushes Oh!" This can hardly be a Winter song, although it has been sung at Christmas, more like some Summer festival, July or August, when rushes are cut for basket work. But the words of this living folk song are most curious.

"One is one and all alone, and ever more shall be". This is deep number theory as it might have been sung to harmonious intervals in a school of Pythagoras. To a mediaeval mind it would equate to God Himself. I can't argue with that. "Two two the Lily White Boys all dressed in Green Ho! Ho!" is curiously pagan and obscure. "Three three the Rivals" is obvious human psychology, "when three meet together, doubts arise among them", says the I Ching. "Four for the Gospel Writers" is blatantly Christian, but "Ringo, Paul, George and John, Bless the bed that I lie on", they do have rivals for hearts and minds.

"Five for the Symbols at my door" means not five symbols, which would be too erudite, too occult for the popular mind, but pentacles, more than one just to make sure, in case of the evil eye. "Six for the six proud walkers" is obscure but must have a historical reference. "Seven for the bright stars in the sky" refers to the planets, as likely as to the Pleaides, called the Seven Sisters, or some other astronomical phenomenon. "Eight for the April Rainers" is so bizarre it provokes debate there's been some corruption of the word. But it could also be astronomical, referring to the Hyades.

"Nine for the nine bright shiners" might be astronomical again (the Sun, Moon and planets), "Ten for the Ten Commandments" requires no elaboration, "Eleven for those who went to Heaven" is also Christian and is interpreted as the Apostles minus Judas, or as St Ursula and eleven martyred virgins. Eleven thousand is probably an exaggeration caused by mistaking MM in an old manuscript as thousands. Perhaps MM meant martyrs. In this case the folk song, the oral tradition got it right and the scholars misinterpreted the story. Another version is there was an inscription "Ursula et Undecimilla, Virgines" which was misinterpreted. "Twelve for the twelve apostles" completes the round of twelve, itself a folksong tradition. We have a song for the Twelve Days of Christmas. Perhaps twelve stations of the Cross. Twelve months. Twelve signs of the Zodiac.

At the end of the day it is The Lily White Boys who cause us most surprise, who are they? One suggestion is the holly and the ivy, but the holly berry is red, the ivy berry is black, while they are "dressed in green" neither is "lily white". Also pagan custom apparently was, the holly and ivy were male and female, so they could not both be "boys". Perhaps we are talking mistletoe, and some antiquated druidic rite? Robert Graves thought it referred to the Holly King and Oak King who battle for the Goddess at Mayday, but no, that's surely "The Rivals" No 3.

The Lily White Boys are two because they are a pair, they do not fight, being "lily white" in any sense (cowardly, pure, virgin &c.) they should not fight. The words of course pass into modern folk speech as a comment jocular or hateful upon the racial or macho divides, especially in America, they're "Lily White Boys" implies, rich, white, shielded from experience of the world, or white, ironically putting up with black attack in some way. And the writers of these polemics, black or white skinned, learnt the lyrics from Scout Camp or College Frat or from a Christian background.

The Christian version of Two is the Old and New Testaments, perhaps in some mediaeval pageant these were boys dressed up, but unless there's historical evidence this actually happened, I'd consider this implausible.

More likely this version of this song, which despite its appearance on the internet, is still orally transmitted, by some of the methods noted, is a folk version. Folk culture changes, but is resistant to deliberate change by any perceived authority. For example what parents (who were once children) and children do at Halloween or at Christmas is not christian, and the churches moan from time to time, ineffectually, and it is certainly not pagan, in the sense of grown-up mainstream, or other traditions, of people who call themselves pagans. This is folk culture which stubbornly survives even long after its meaning and purpose is long forgotten.

We need to study what seasonal activities ordinary children get up to. They didn't invent them, they learnt them from other children, and from their parents, who did them when they were children. Now perhaps, in this case, only the song goes on, its strange obscurity adding to its instėinctive attraction even though the event it perhaps celebrated, no longer takes place.

The obscurity of this old song can be glimpsed by considering "The six proud walkers", this is certainly a reference not familiar to anyone today. It is suggested "The six proud walkers" were members of a Saxon warband who belligerently beat the bounds of their fortified camp in a traditional way. If this is historically accurate we're talking somewhere between 450AD and 1066AD before English as we know it was spoken. Was the reference remembered in oral history long after these dates? I'm assuming oral tradition transcends the boundaries of changes in language, and why not, if those changes are organic, popular and gradual?

The other explanation for "The six proud walkers" at least has a literary source, The Bible, Ezekiel 9 v2 where six men with swords come, in the very troubled vision of the prophet, to slaughter the people, whose leaders (8 v16) have committed such abominations as turning East to worship the Sun, and possibly we might think, more seriously, "they have filled the land with violence", and therefore (God says) "mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." So indeed it may be today, in Iraq, in Israel, in Palestine, as if nothing has changed since 500BC.

But whether this could be the origin of the words of an English folksong is doubtful. Rather that Christian theologians want to own The Green Rushes campfire song, and Pagan theologians are equal to the temptation, but neither is likely to "succeed" in imposing their will on the people, who have their own perpetual way called "folklore".

References: First
Second
Third

Click here to go to PADRAS/Stonehenge site

Click for information about Robin's Greenwood Gang

Click here to return to RGG home page