• eronth@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      7 days ago

      Either interpretation is valid, though. Either one is an absurd amount of gifts, I would not put it past the gifter to have made an extravagant display of re-giving the stuff from days before each day.

    • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      7 days ago

      I’d be interested if this sort of exaggeration humor was common in Victorian England. Giving them all those things each day has a very “Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory” vibe that would be very amusing after a wassail or two.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      6 days ago

      “on the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.”

      It takes a bit of mental gymnastics to assert that on the second day of Christmas he did not send two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

      If I said yesterday I gave my friend a pork pie and today I gave my friend some spaghetti and a pork pie, you would not come to the conclusion that my friend did not receive a second pork pie.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        6 days ago

        I’d say it depends on whether you were singing it to me or not. Songs kind of have to keep these things brief a lot of the time. Also, the lyrics of this song don’t make much sense to begin with. 🤷

    • crapwittyname@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 days ago

      All songs should be taken literally, which is why I eat love and prayers, and have a restraining order against me for trying to drag Hozier into a church at knifepoint.