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I was discussing the Twelve Days of Christmas song with my son as a maths exercise. We worked out how many items are received, but I then wondered if pear trees are a singular or plural item.

On day one the line is

My true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree

and on every day after it changes to

and a partridge in a pear tree.

As they use the indefinite article, does this mean the recipient also gets twelve pear trees, or could it be the same tree from day one?

Brian
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    I doubt this can be definitively answered from the lyrics. It certainly seems to me that the gift given each day consists of a partridge and its accompanying tree. If the line referred to "a partridge in a gift bag" I doubt you'd be asking the question, and if there was only one tree that could be made clear (though making it scan would be tricky). Or was the first partridge removed from the tree? Or does the song rely on having an entire orchard and unveiling sections of it? – Chris H Dec 21 '17 at 08:38
  • And what about the five goooooold rings on day five? Does that mean she gets five goooold rings the next day? It's a total of 40 rings on the twelfth day....wow. No. There are no 40 rings and there are no 12 pear trees with a partridge in each one. – Mari-Lou A Dec 21 '17 at 08:58
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    Here's the little-known longer version of The One Hundred And Sixty-Five Days of Christmas, which is extended daily here. – Hugo Dec 21 '17 at 09:11
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    Plainly the gifts for each day are " ... and a partridge, in a pear tree." This suggests there is indeed a tree for each day, but the trees are not identical; the twelfth tree has to be sizeable enough to contain twelve lords, eleven ladies, ten pipers, &c. – Will Crawford Dec 21 '17 at 09:13
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    Be not led astray by the heretics who tell you that the true love and the narrator were in the pear tree when the gifts were given. – Will Crawford Dec 21 '17 at 09:14

2 Answers2

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Fun question. From the language alone, the most obvious conclusion is that the speaker (singer) receives all the items, each day, so that by the end they have 12 partridges in 12 trees, 22 turtle doves, 30 french hens, etc.

From a pragmatic point of view, the most sensible interpretation is that they get each gift only once, as if the lyrics said *"By the end of the Nth day of Christmas, my true love had sent to me..."*.

Perhaps we can assume that this is an example of poetic license, and was what the writer intended. My version, above, certainly doesn't scan as well.

Max Williams
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I would say 12 partridges and 12 pear trees are sent in total.

Looking at just one day:

On the ninth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

So those are the gifts of just the ninth day. It doesn't say or suggest: on the ninth day my true love sent me just X, in addition to Y-Z from the previous days.

Community
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Hugo
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