December 2

The Seven Joys of Mary, 15th Century German altarpiece

Joys Seven

Arranged by Stephen Cleobury, and performed by

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge,

and also by the band Great Big Sea,

from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

The first good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of one;

To see the blessed Jesus Christ

When He was first her son:

When He was first her son, good man;

And blessed may He be,

Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

To all eternity.

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of two;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ

To make the lame to go:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of three;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To make the blind to see:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of four;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ,

To read the Bible o'er:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of five;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ

To bring the dead alive:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of six,

To see her own son, Jesus Christ

Upon the crucifix:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of seven;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ

To wear the crown of Heaven:

"Joys Seven" fits very nicely into the group of "counting carols", of which there are too many to count, quite frankly (one of my least favourites being "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  No matter how interesting the meanings of the various symbols may be, that tune is just done to death.  UGH.)

The number seven has traditionally been recognized by the Franciscan religious order.  In 1422, a young man  named James observed a daily ritual of bringing a crown of flowers to a statue of the Blessed Virgin.  He entered a friary, but considered leaving when he discovered that his new situation prevented him from accessing fresh flowers.  Mary appeared to him and told him to stay in the friary, and to daily weave a crown that would be more pleasing to her.  She taught him to pray the Seraphic Rosary, which consists of seven decades in honour of her seven joys.  This rosary is now known as the Franciscan Crown.

This particular carol has ancient Medieval origins, and boasts several different versions:  The Joys of Mary vary greatly, and are counted as being anywhere between five and fifteen!  The various rhymes are all easy to remember in association with each number, and would have given Christians an effective, accessible way to learn the stories of the Gospels.  It is set to a jolly air, which can be found in the 1871 printing of Bramley and Stainer's book of carols.  One can even imagine children singing it as they trudged along on their way to Sunday school...  Indeed, W. J. Phillips recalls in his work, "Carols" (1890), a story where unemployed men tramped along with shovels through the London snow singing to the tune, "We've got no work to do-oo-oo!"  We think times are tough now, and they most certainly were then, back in 1850.

A song of Everyman, this!  And so, I have also included a Canadian folk version, sung by one of my favourite East Coast bands, Great Big Sea.