April Rainers I've seen as a reference to the Hyades, the star cluster which makes up the head of Taurus. They are apparently associated with weeping and rain, and become visible in the evening sky after the Pleiades, which rise ahead of them, so it would make sense for them to follow those stars in the song. Unfortunately, the Pleiades are difficult to see as seven, except by people with very good sight, or children. The Greeks had a myth to explain why the seventh was fainter (she married a mortal). And there are other candidates for the seven stars: the Plough, and the seven wandering celestial bodies, Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury and Saturn. The nine bright shiners might also be astronomical. I've had a look at Orion - seven outstanding stars, but you might count the sword as two more. This constellation would follow the others into the sky, so there would be some logic about it, and it is the most obviously bright constellation in the sky.

Penny