'Green grow the rushes o' is an old counting song, similar in style to the Twelve Days of Christmas. The original words are based on Biblical characters. An explanation of the new words are given below.
What is you one - o?
Green grow the rushes -o.
This is my one - o.
One is for the great world tree
High and ever green - o.
What is your two - o?
Green grow the rushes -o.
This is my two - o.
Two, two the sun and moon,
Race across the heavens - o.
One is for the great world tree
High and ever green - o
What is your three - o?
Green grow the rushes -o.
This is my three - o.
Three, three the Norns.
Two, two the sun and moon,
Race across the heavens - o.
One is for the great world tree
High and ever green - o
What is your four - o?
Green grow the rushes -o.
This is my four - o.
Four for the stags a-grazing
Three, three the Norns.
Two, two the sun and moon,
Race across the heavens - o.
One is for the great world tree
High and ever green - o
Other Verses:
Five for the points of Aurvandil.
Six for the colours of the bridge.
Seven for the jewels on the Lady's wain.
Eight for the legs of Sleipnir.
Nine for the worlds around the tree.
Ten for the day the runes were known.
Eleven for the horses of the gods.
Twelve for the gods of Asgard.
Explanation of the new words:
This was difficult, Norse myths repeatedly use the numbers three and nine.
World Tree (obvious I hope), sun and moon (ditto), Norns (ditto), stags a-grazing (the stags that run in the branches of the World Tree), points of Aurvandil (Aurvandil is a star), colours of the bridge (Bifrost the rainbow bridge counting indigo and purple as one colour), Lady's Wain (the stars of Ursa Minor), legs of Sleipnir (Odin's horse), Worlds around the tree (the nine worlds of existence), day the runes were known (Odin spent nine days in self sacrifice to learn the runes), horses of the gods (Thor has no horse hence eleven), gods of Asgard (numbered at twelve in the later myths).