OK. How many birds do you get from your true love during the 12 days of Christmas? I already know. I made a spreadsheet...
i think it depends if you consider the geese as laying down, or laying eggs? and if you consider an egg a future bird.
Let's break this down. The use of "laying" in the aforementioned song can imply one of two common outcomes - laying an egg and laying down. This has already been stated, but I am restating it at the beginning of this problem because "engineer". The "lay" part for "passing eggs" is obvious. However, when it comes to posturing oneself or being in a "down" position, the difference between "lay" and "lie" are small, but profound. "Lay" requires an object to
be "verbed" and is used when something is to be placed - ex: "Lay down your weapon and step out of the car!" "Lie", on the other hand, is for when one is moving oneself into, or already in, a down position - ex: "Lie down with your hands behind your back!"
So, going further, "six geese a laying", who is laying the geese? Themselves? Are they laying themselves? Probably not. They don't have phalanges. And they're not "six geese a lying" as they would be putting themselves down or this could even be convoluted into a "what are the geese lying about" debate. That's something the song originators probably thought long and hard about before settling on "six geese a
laying".
Finally, this song is suggested to be one of religious origin and some postulate secret meanings to this song as a way to teach children about Christmas. For the sixth day, "laying", the hidden meaning is for the six days of creation.
Creation being the key word. This lends credence to tj's "future bird" concept. Interesting.
Ergo, for the sake of this particular Christmas lyric, "Six geese a laying", as we presume they are not laying each other down and the suggested religious origin, the geese are clearly laying eggs (creating) for "future birds". Whether you want to include "future birds" in your official tally is left for those who have stake in receiving gifts as outlined in this song.
No, I'm not drunk.