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Twa Corbies Lyrics
As I was walking all alane
I heard twa corbies makin' mane;
And tane ontae the tither did say,
“Where shall we gang and dine the day
Where shall we gang and dine the day?”
“In behind yon aul fail dyke
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there-o
But his hawk and his hound and his lady fair-o,
His hawk and his hound and his lady fair.”
His hawk is tae the hunting gane,
His hound to fetch the wildfowl hame;
His lady has ta'en anither mate-o
So we may make our dinner sweet-o,
We may make our dinner sweet”
“Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane
And I'll pike out his bonny blue een;
With many a lock of his golden hair-o
We'll theek our nest when it grows bare-o,
Theek our nest when it grows bare.”
“Many a one for him makes mane
But nane shall ken where he is gane;
O'er his white bones when they are bare-o
The wind shall blow for evermare-o,
The wind shall blow for evermare.”
I heard twa corbies makin' mane;
And tane ontae the tither did say,
“Where shall we gang and dine the day
Where shall we gang and dine the day?”
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there-o
But his hawk and his hound and his lady fair-o,
His hawk and his hound and his lady fair.”
His hound to fetch the wildfowl hame;
His lady has ta'en anither mate-o
So we may make our dinner sweet-o,
We may make our dinner sweet”
And I'll pike out his bonny blue een;
With many a lock of his golden hair-o
We'll theek our nest when it grows bare-o,
Theek our nest when it grows bare.”
But nane shall ken where he is gane;
O'er his white bones when they are bare-o
The wind shall blow for evermare-o,
The wind shall blow for evermare.”
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This is an amazing version of a traditional ballad about two carrion crows contemplating eating a newly slain knight and actually bothering to try to justify it to themselves by saying no one will know or care that the knight is missing, not even the knight's hawk or dog. I think it also seems to be a metaphor for creepy opportunistic human vultures who are always seeking to benefit from the misfortune of others. But at least the guy is already dead in this case.
As I was walking all alone I heard two carrion crows cawing And one said to the other Where shall we go and dine today? Where shall we go and dine today?
In behind that old turf wall I know there lies a newly-killed knight And nobody knows that he lies there Except his hawk and his hound and his lady fair His hawk and his hound and his lady fair
His hawk has gone hunting His hound to bring the wildfowl home His lady has taken another mate So we may make our dinner sweet So we may make our dinner sweet
You will sit on his white neckbone And I'll pick out his pretty blue eyes With many a lock of his golden hair We'll line our nest when it grows bare We'll line our nest when it grows bare
Many mourn for him But none will know where he is gone Over his white bones when they are bare The wind will blow for ever more The wind will blow for ever more
(Note: the phrase "makes mane/makin' mane" occurs twice in the poem, once to describe the sound that the crows make, once to describe the actions of the knight's friends. The literal translation might be something like "makes moaning sounds"; I have translated it as "cawing" in the first case, and "mourning" in the second. The reason that the same phrase is used twice is probably to suggest that the cawing of the crows has a mournful sound to it, and so set the eerie tone of the poem).