The best known English version was first printed in English in 1780 in a little book intended for children, Mirth without Mischief, as a Twelfth Night "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet. One hundred years later, Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described how it used to be played every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake. (excerpt from Wikipedia)

But ya gotta love Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters AND Bob and Doug Mackenzie's versions!

****WORD/PDF COUNT-IN ADDED AND TREMOLO PUT IN ON "FIVE GOLD RINGS" and ARROWS IN 7 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS - December 7, 2018 - SR****