#401, in which all the bells on earth shall ring

I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas Day in the morning

Today we consider "I Saw Three Ships," and with it, one of the greatest mysteries in all of Yuletide melody: Why are there ships in the Holy Land?

Bethlehem is about twenty miles from the Dead Sea and even further still from the Mediterranean. There are no rivers that lead to Bethlehem, nor any that go through it. There are no lakes, no ponds, no puddles in Bethlehem. There is absolutely no reason of any kind for a ship to be in Bethlehem, let alone three.

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

So why are we singing about ships coming to Bethlehem? Why are we singing about ships that arrived to the nativity on the morning of His birth in landlocked Bethlehem? Are they symbolic? Are they secretly camels? Are they actually the wise men?

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 

I'm at a loss to explain the ships, honestly, but it doesn't seem like I'm alone in that. Musical historians don't have any sort of consensus on what they mean, either. It's a complete mystery, and one that I don't suspect has any sort of meaningful answer. So let's set it aside and look at the end, where we sing that "all the bells on earth shall ring" and "all the souls on earth shall sing." That's much more straightforward, and something I don't have to spend hours scratching my head over. The earth rejoiced at the coming of its Lord and Creator. So did its inhabitants, at least the ones to whom it was announced. The shepherds came as they heard the angelic heralds, and the magi followed some time after. We still ring bells on Christmas, and we still rejoice. We still feel the sacredness of the day, and the joy at knowing that our Savior came to earth, and that He still lives.

No, I don't know why we sing about ships, and neither do you, but it's plainly a song of rejoicing, and maybe that's enough.




Previously in this series

We Three Kings

Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

In the Bleak Midwinter

Little Drummer Boy