From Wikipedia--
Green Grow the Rushes-O
Green Grow the Rushes, O
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green Grow the Rushes, O, is a folk song popular in England, Scotland, and Wales. The song is extremely old, first recorded in Hebrew in the 16th century and probably much older than that; at the present, it is sometimes sung as a Christmas carol. The song is not to be confused with Robert Burns' Green Grow the Rashes, O, with which it shares only the title. It is cumulative in structure, with each verse built up from the previous verse by appending a new stanza. The first verse is:
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 (it) so.
The twelfth is:
I'll sing you twelve, O
Green grow the rushes, O
What are your twelve, O?
Twelve for the twelve Apostles,
Eleven for the eleven who went to heaven,
Ten for the ten commandments,
Nine for the nine bright shiners,
Eight for the April rainers, (occasionally Eight for the eight bold rangers,)
Seven for the seven stars in the sky,
Six for the six proud walkers,
Five for the symbols at your door,
Four for the Gospel makers,
Three, three, the rivals,
Two, two, lily-white boys,
Clothed all in green, O
One is one and all alone (sometimes One is one and one alone or One is one and stands alone)
And evermore shall be (it) so.
The lyrics of the song are in many places extremely obscure, and present an unusual mixture of Christian catechesis, astronomical mnemonics, and what may very well be pagan cosmology. The song's origins are uncertain, but the first recorded instance of it is in Hebrew; it may have originated in the intricacies of medieval Jewish thought, although the Kabbalistic mystics were seldom interested in composing songs.
"Green grow the rushes, O" sounds sufficiently out of place that one is inclined to ascribe it to the same origin as "Fine flowers in the valley" in one version of the ballad The Cruel Mother, namely, an attempt to turn a misremembered line of Gaelic into something that it sounds like in English. However, the song did not originate in the British Isles; thus, the line must have been included for a conscious reason, or been the product of an earlier disruption.
Twelve is almost certainly the twelve apostles of Jesus, although the number has other meanings; it may originally have referred to the months of the year, for example.
The eleven are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful (minus Judas Iscariot), or possibly St. Ursula and her companions.
Ten are, fairly obviously, the ten commandments given to Moses.
The nine may be an astonomical reference, although counting the sun, moon and planets known before 1781 yields at most 8, not 9. It could potentially refer to the nine orders (or 'choirs') of angels.
The April rainers refer to the Hyades star cluster, called the "rainy Hyades" in classical times, and rising with the sun in April; the Greeks thought of them as inaugurating the April rains. "Eight bold rangers" is a very recent corruption, most likely the unfortunate consequence of singers with more knowledge of Tolkien than Greece.
The seven are probably the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades star cluster, or perhaps Ursa Major, the Big Dipper. They may also be the planets or other stars. Alternatively, the seven stars are those referred to in Revelation chapter 1. They are first cited in verse 16 as being held in the right hand of Christ and then explained as referring to seven angels of the seven early Christian churches.
The six seems to be a historical reference, but remains obscure. It is possible that they were members of a Saxon warband who beat the bounds of their fortified camp in a traditional way between A.D. 450 and A.D. 1066. Perhaps it is a Biblical reference to Ezekiel 9:2 - six men with swords come in a vision of the prophet to slaughter the people, whose leaders (8:16) have committed such sins as turning East to worship the Sun, and "have filled the land with violence." It may also be a corruption of "waters," but what "the six bold waters" might refer to remains unanswered.
"Five for the symbols at your door" probably refers to the practice of putting a pentagram at the door of a house to ward off witches and evil spirits; this was relatively common in the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, and is alluded to in no shortage of literary works from or set in those eras. It can also refer to the five books of Moses - the pentateuch. An alternative interpretation is given by John Timpson in his book Timpson's England, where he states that it refers to five symbols displayed above the doorways of houses that would shelter Catholic priests. He gives an example a house where these can still be seen.
Four refers to the four Evangelists, Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.
Some have suggested that "the three" are the Trinity, but this leaves "the rivals" unexplained. The I Ching contains the interesting proverb that "when three meet together, doubts arise among them," although it probably has no bearing on the interpretation of this song. The three could also refer to the 3 major religious traditions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. "The three" could also refer to the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, alluding to the previous line. These three give similar though slightly different accounts of the life of Christ. Or the "three rivals" could be Peter, James and John who are often mentioned together in the Gospels and at one time: "A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest." (Luke 22:24).
The two remain obscure. Jesus and John the Baptist have been suggested. Possibly they are the holly and the ivy (although the holly berry is red, the ivy berry is black) they are both green, but neither is white. Pagan tradition also has the holly and the ivy as male and female, so they are not both 'boys'. Possibly they are mistletoe (white berries with green banches) in some traditional rite? Robert Graves suggests that they are the Holly King and Oak King of the May Day festival. There is some suggestion that the two may be the Old and New Testaments, perhaps referring to some mediaeval tradition, although "clad all in green" strongly suggests that the two boys were in some way connected with the growth of plants.
Another explanation is that the statues of St John and Our Lady which in Christian Churches flank the Crucifix on the Altar reredos or the Rood screen were, during Holy Week, bound round with rushes to cover them. (During Holy Week, from Palm Sunday until Easter Day all statues, crosses, crucifixes etc are traditionally covered up from view or removed and no flowers are in the Church). The two figures were portrayed in similar garments, hence the 'lily-white boys' and wrapped in rushes they were 'dressed up all in green'.
One would suppose that the "One" of the last line would be God, but God in the Middle Ages was more commonly thought of as the Trinity, and "one is one and one alone," if applied to God, sounds more like Jewish or Muslim theology than Christian in its strong insistence on the Divine unity.
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Thanks Noddy for the more in depth review and background information leading to - possibly - Burn's little ditty. As I read more about him, I think he was young and inventive although with a slight inebriety. My most favorite lines of his are =
"O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And ev'n devotion!"
Danon--
"Green Grow the Rushes-O" probably did inspire Burns.
I was 11 or 12 when I read Green Mansions.
Perhaps my interest in the environment ... in the rainforest ... comes from that?
hint of a review ... click
Green Mansions : a romance of the tropical forest by W. H. Hudson ... Gutenberg Project download begins with the foreward at the beginning of this page.
a somewhat random excerpt
Quote:I spent several hours in this wild paradise, which was so much
more delightful than the extensive gloomier forests I had so
often penetrated in Guayana; for here, if the trees did not
attain to such majestic proportions, the variety of vegetable
forms was even greater; as far as I went it was nowhere dark
under the trees, and the number of lovely parasites everywhere
illustrated the kindly influence of light and air. Even where
the trees were largest the sunshine penetrated, subdued by the
foliage to exquisite greenish-golden tints, filling the wide
lower spaces with tender half-lights, and faint blue-and-gray
shadows. Lying on my back and gazing up, I felt reluctant to
rise and renew my ramble. For what a roof was that above my
head! Roof I call it, just as the poets in their poverty
sometimes describe the infinite ethereal sky by that word; but it
was no more roof-like and hindering to the soaring spirit than
the higher clouds that float in changing forms and tints, and
like the foliage chasten the intolerable noonday beams. How far
above me seemed that leafy cloudland into which I gazed! Nature,
we know, first taught the architect to produce by long colonnades
the illusion of distance; but the light-excluding roof prevents
him from getting the same effect above. Here Nature is
unapproachable with her green, airy canopy, a sun-impregnated
cloud--cloud above cloud; and though the highest may be unreached
by the eye, the beams yet filter through, illuming the wide
spaces beneath--chamber succeeded by chamber, each with its own
special lights and shadows. Far above me, but not nearly so far
as it seemed, the tender gloom of one such chamber or space is
traversed now by a golden shaft of light falling through some
break in the upper foliage, giving a strange glory to everything
it touches--projecting leaves, and beard-like tuft of moss, and
snaky bush-rope. And in the most open part of that most open
space, suspended on nothing to the eye, the shaft reveals a
tangle of shining silver threads--the web of some large
tree-spider. These seemingly distant yet distinctly visible
threads serve to remind me that the human artist is only able to
get his horizontal distance by a monotonous reduplication of
pillar and arch, placed at regular intervals, and that the least
departure from this order would destroy the effect. But Nature
produces her effects at random, and seems only to increase the
beautiful illusion by that infinite variety of decoration in
which she revels, binding tree to tree in a tangle of
anaconda-like lianas, and dwindling down from these huge cables
to airy webs and hair-like fibres that vibrate to the wind of the
passing insect's wing.
Thus in idleness, with such thoughts for company, I spent my
time, glad that no human being, savage or civilized, was with me.
It was better to be alone to listen to the monkeys that chattered
without offending; to watch them occupied with the unserious
business of their lives. With that luxuriant tropical nature,
its green clouds and illusive aerial spaces, full of mystery,
they harmonized well in language, appearance, and
motions--mountebank angels, living their fantastic lives far
above earth in a half-way heaven of their own.
aktbird57 - You and your 298 friends have supported 2,428,954.1 square feet!
Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 116,519.2 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 298 friends have supported: (116,519.2)
American Prairie habitat supported: 52,974.1 square feet.
You have supported: (12,945.9)
Your 298 friends have supported: (40,028.2)
Rainforest habitat supported: 2,259,460.8 square feet.
You have supported: (171,470.0)
Your 298 friends have supported: (2,087,990.8)
~~~~~~~~~~~
2428954.1 square feet is equal to 55.76 acres
Noddy24,
thanks for posting more details.
ehBeth-
the movie Green Masions was titled "Tropenglut" in German.
I found the booktitle at amazon. The German title:
Vogelmädchen.
There is a sci-fi triology by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars.
A nice CD I bought in Brazil:
Verde ( Green) by Badi Assad.
In German we have a lot of expressions or phrases with green.
In English I just know
Greenhorn, Green Card, green about the gills, green with eny, green energy,
Good Morning everyone,
My grass is greener than your grass...... :wink:
all clicked and thinking of the green trees we saved today.
Green, Green Grass Of Home
(by Claude Puttman Junior)
The old home town looks the same,
as I step down from the train
And there to meet me is my mama and my papa
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home
Yes, they'll all come to meet me,
arms reachin' smiling sweetly
Oh it's good to touch the green, green grass of home
The old house is still standing,
though the paint is cracked and dry
And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on
Yes. down the lane I'll walk with my sweet Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home
Yes, they'll all come to meet me,
arms reachin' smiling sweetly
Oh it's good to touch the green, green grass of home
(Spoken)
Then I awake and look around me. Four grey walls surround me.
And I realize I was only dreamin'
There's a guard and there's a sad old padre,
Arm and arm we'll walk at daybreak -
Again I'll touch the green, green grass of home
Yes, they'll all come to see me
In the shade of an old oak tree
As they lay me 'neath the green, green grass of home
Sumac-
now I have an ear worm.
Was this a song used in a commercial or was it written for this commercial?
Must have been a good one, I still remember it.
Danon,
Far away the fields look greener-
Ul,
Can't speak to whether or not a commercial was associated with it. I went back to Google and looked only on the first page, but saw that a great number of performers have made a success out of it: Tom Jones, Elvis, Porter Wagoner.
I think it is Tom Jones' voice that I hear in my head.
Same vein, different scope:
THE COOL GREEN HILLS OF EARTH
Quote:Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.
We rot in the moulds of Venus,
We retch at her tainted breath.
Foul are her flooded jungles,
Crawling with unclean death.
[ --- the harsh bright soil of Luna ---
--- Saturn's rainbow rings ---
--- the frozen night of Titan --- ]
We've tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.
The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.
Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet ---
We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.
-- Robert A. Heinlein
Not immortal poetry, but excellent science fiction.
ul wrote:now I have an ear worm.
In case anyone's ear worm is fading ...
hehe 
hehehe
~~~~~~~~~~~~
or for a slightly different ear worm
The Green Grass Grew All Around
Quote:And on this bird there was a wing...
The prettiest wing that you ever did see
Well the wing on the bird
And the bird on the egg
And the egg in the nest
And the nest on the twig
And the twig on the branch
And the branch on the tree
And the tree on the root
And the root in the hole
And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grew all around and around
And the green grass grew all around.
Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrgghh!!!
OK, You asked for it !!!
----------------------------
"It's a world of laughter, a world of tears,
It's a world of hopes and a world of fears;
There's so much that we share,
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all.
It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
It's a small, small world.
There is just one moon, and one golden sun,
And a smile means friendship to ev'ryone;
Though the mountains divide,
And the oceans are wide,
It's a small world after all. "
Aaaaahhhhhheeeeerrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!!!
:wink:
"Chorus:
It's a small world after all.
It's a small world after all.
It's a small world after all.
It's a small, small world.
(Repeat ad nauseam until it's permanently etched into your neural synapses.)
aktbird57 - You and your 298 friends have supported 2,430,593.0 square feet!
Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 116,683.1 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 298 friends have supported: (116,683.1)
American Prairie habitat supported: 52,974.1 square feet.
You have supported: (12,945.9)
Your 298 friends have supported: (40,028.2)
Rainforest habitat supported: 2,260,935.8 square feet.
You have supported: (171,493.4)
Your 298 friends have supported: (2,089,442.4)
~~~~~~~~~~
danon, you have nooooooo idea what you're up against now
~~~~~~~~~~
2430593.0 square feet is equal to 55.80 acres
~~~~~~~~~~
Quote:"It's Not Easy Bein' Green" (lyrics by Joe Rapposo)
It's not that easy bein' green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold-
or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy bein' green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water- or stars in the sky.
But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder,
I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.
should I dare you to click?
Kermit, I love you ... smoooooooooch
the nekkid midi truth - can you handle the nekkid midi truth?
Very cute, ehBeth..
I actually turned off the sound on my computer before I clicked on the links you gave.............. hehehehe
However, I turned the sound back on when I saw what you linked to. I like Kermit. He's green and really cool.
Thanks.......................
:wink:
Thank you, ehBeth. It is good to have my vocal earworm replaced with an instrumental one.
Green Man-
From Wikipedia:
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing or other representation of a face surrounded by (or made from) leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face, and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical). "The Green Man" is also a popular name for British public houses and various interpretations of the name appear on inn signs, which sometimes show a full figure rather than just the head.
The Green Man motif has many different faces and variations. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or "renaissance", representing the cycle of growth being reborn anew each spring. Speculatively, the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.
More info and pictures
here
Fascinating information, Ul. Thanks. I had never heard of it before.
By the way, I love the new avatar.
One of these image URLs will work.
Green Icebergs
Bottle-green icebergs have often been reported by visitors to Antarctica. The reason for their green colour is still a matter of contention: Early reports attributed the colour to high levels of metallic compounds. Another has attributed the colour to an optical illusion when blue ice is illuminated by a low lying red sun, however, green icebergs stand out among white and blue icebergs under a variety of light conditions. Yet another states that the green colour is due to enriched yellow substances derived from phytoplankton blooms.
Recent analyses of marine ice cores and green iceberg material collected from the Ronne Ice shelf and the Weddell Sea however, has not revealed any dissolved organic material in these samples. All these samples including a large ice chunk were absolutely colourless, but did contain layers of very fine sediment particles; a feature considered, in part, to be responsible for the observed optical effects.
click image for graphic with more details
There is general consensus, however, on the origin of green icebergs. They represent the underside of some floating ice shelves where ice platelets have accumulated to form so-called "marine-ice" layers. Green icebergs become visible after "normal " looking icebergs have capsized displaying the layer of marine ice underneath.
Current projects
Efforts are being made to conclusively determine the factors responsible for the green colour of the icebergs. These include further spectral analyses of ice as well as elemental analyses of core and iceberg samples. Processes leading to incorporation of the fine layers of sediment are not yet understood. Modelling and oceanographic data obtained through bore holes in the ice shelves should help to clarify this aspect and shed light on rates of marine ice accumulation and ablation.
