Q: Where do the lyrics to the song 12 days of Christmas originate? Why leaping lords?

Asked by Jez Burrows

The Twelve Days of Christmas is one of the most iconic and memorable songs of the festive season, with each verse listing a ridiculous array of presents that the boastful singer’s true love has given to them. Over the years it has been subjected to countless parodies and alternative recordings, including versions by The Muppets and John Denver (the best bit is around 3 mins 10 seconds), Ren and Stimpy, South Park’s Jimmy, and Destiny’s Child, whose version lists ‘the keys to a CLK mercedes’ and ‘quality T-I-M-E’ as its top two gifts. 

In contrast, the original song, with its maids a-milking and lords a-leaping, has unclear morals and origins. First published in England in 1780 in a children’s book called Mirth Without Mischief, it was pitched as a cumulative memory game where players took turns to add a verse until someone made a mistake. That person then had to pay a forfeit, for example a gift or a sweet (Smith 2010). Some sources suggest the song (pre-publication) originated in France, which explains some of the lyrics – it was much more common for French partridges to perch in trees than English ones at that time (Wikipedia). 

As far as finding the meanings behind those cryptic lyrics, in particular why those lords are leaping, there are claims that the song was a code to help Catholics remember the teachings of their religion at a time when Catholicism was illegal in England. Catholics would create songs and rhymes to symbolise elements of their religion, because it was too dangerous to write them down in case they were caught. According to interpretations, if this song was a coded catechism, the Lords A-Leaping represented the ten commandments, while the Pipers Piping symbolised the eleven apostles, the Geese A-Laying were the six days of creation, and so on. However much evidence suggests this is not true, (as explained in detail by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson) and it is in fact, ‘a secular song that celebrates the Christmas season with the imagery of gifts and dancing and music.’ 

So it seems things haven’t changed much since 1780, as Christmas remains a time for giving presents and having a party. Extravagance is merely marked by a different scale these days, as instead of drummers drumming or swans a-swimming, a modern society is more inclined to give jewellery and gadgets. Plus they’re easier to wrap.

Words by Jenny Brewer

Illustration by Adam Ellison