Singing Potatoes
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Tuesday, 17 December 2002
Three Ravens
There were three ravens sat on a tree,
Down a down, hey down, hey down.
There were three ravens sat on a tree,
With a down.
There were three ravens sat on a tree,
Most boring lyrics in history,
With a down derry derry derry down down.
Posted by godfrey (link)
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Comments
I actually dig that song, or rather, a Scottish variation of it called "Twa Corbies".

1 As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;
The tane unto the t'other say,
'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?'

2 'In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair.

3 'His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His lady 'a ta'en another mate,
So we may mak our dinner sweet.

4 'Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane,
And I'll pike out his bonny blue een;
Wi ae lock o his gowden hair
We'll theek our nest when it grows bare.

5 'Mony a one for him makes mane,
But nane sall ken where he is gane;
Oer his white banes, when they are bare,
The wind sail blaw for evennair.'

Posted by Darren on 17 Dec 2002 11:24
Yeah, Twa Corbies is a cool ballad. And "Three Ravens" isn't quite so bad if you conflate each pair of verses into a single verse.

Digression One: the title of the Scottish version reminds me of a joke. A Scotsman went on holiday to France, and when he returned, his friends asked him how he'd liked it. "I liked the people well enough," he said, "but they dinna ken how to count. Every morning, I'd ask for twa eggs for breakfast, but they always brought me three."

Digression Two: One of these days, I need to record the ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard. It's shown up in countless versions from all over the British Isles (one variant was recorded by Joan Baez as "Matty Groves"), but I've never seen the oldest known version recorded anywhere.

Posted by Godfrey on 17 Dec 2002 11:38
I learned "Twa Corbies" from some anthology and recited it for my parents once before dinner when I was about ten. They looked somewhat askance, although I don't know if they were more dismayed by what I had found roaming off into English literature by myself, or my timing.
Posted by Moira on 24 Jan 2003 16:15