Today’s track in the Newfoundland Christmas Music Advent Calendar comes from the west coast of the island via The Fine Lads. The Fine Lads are a duo — Philip Hardy (Port-Aux-Basque) and Donovan Conran (Port au Port). They formed in 2018 and have been making folk/traditional/celtic music ever since. They have 3 releases available including one Christmas ep, which gives us today’s song.

I Saw Three Ships is an old English carol possibly dating back as far as the 1600s. The lyrics sung today are probably newer (like the 1800s). There’s a bit of mystery concerning the lyrics. Bethlehem is land-locked so no literal ships came sailing in on Christmas Day, in the morning or any other time. The ships are often said to represent the Magi… but they didn’t arrive on Christmas Day and there might not have been three of them. Confusing matters further, some versions of the song indicate that “Our Savior Christ and His lady” were in those ships.

Regardless of the origin, the song is upbeat and catchy and the Fine Lads bring an undeniable energy.

Check it out!

Newfoundland Christmas Music

Stay tuned for more great Newfoundland Christmas music.

I'm a big fan of traditional Christmas music, I love to hear a modern rendition of a 300 year old carol but, occasionally, a brand new song comes to my attention and dominates my Christmas listening.

Newfoundland's musicians have been holding their own in both regards. I’ll be sharing a song a day from now until Christmas in a NFLD Music Advent Calendar.

Follow along on Instagram stories and get playlists here.