The Twa Corbies

How we too easily get spooked when divining from nature.

The blog seems to be taking a musical turn at the moment. Something a friend said yesterday put me in mind of one of my favourite Scottish ballads -- The Twa Corbies. You can hear a version of it below, and read both a transcription and a "translation" from the Scots.

As I was walking all alane
I heard twa corbies makin  a mane
The tin untae the tither did say-o
Whaur sill we gang and dine the day-o
Whaur sill we gang and dine the day

It's in ahint yon auld fell dyke
I wot there lies a new-slain knight
And naebody kens that he lies there-o
But his hawk and his hoond and his lady fair

His hawk is tae the huntin gane
His hoond tae bring the wildfowl hame
His lady's taen anither mate-o
So we mun mak oor dinner swate

It's ye'll sit on his white hausebane
An I'll plake oot his bonny blue een
Wi' a lock o his gowden hair-o
We'll theek oor nest when it graws bare

Thaur's mony a ain for him maks mane
But nane sill ken whaur he is gane
And o'er his banes when they are bare-o
The wind sill blaw forever mair

As I was walking all alone
I heard two crows making moan
The one unto the other did say
Where shall we go and dine today


It's in behind yon old stone wall
I know there lies a new-slain knight
And nobody know that he lies there
But his hawk and his hound and his lady fair

His hawk is to the hunting gone
His hound to bring the wildfowl home
His lady's taken another mate
So we must make our dinner sweet

It's you'll sit on his white collarbone
And I'll pluck out his bonny blue eyes
With a lock of his golden hair
We'll thicken our nest when it grows bare

There's many a one for him makes moan
But none shall know where he is gone
And o'er his bones when they are bare
The wind will blow forever more

When I was looking on YouTube for a version of this song (and there are many good ones!) I found it interesting that many of the accompanying videos made much of the song being dark or spooky, etc. Some of the artwork seemed to portray the crows as slightly evil. Equally, some versions of the ballad seem to suggest that the knight's hawk, hound and lady have been highly disloyal to abandon him. Those comparing this ballad to its English counterpart "The Three Ravens" often say the Scots version is "cynical", since in The Three Ravens the knights companions protect and bury his body. Hmmmm. I see it a little differently.

For whatever reason, this knight is dead. His hawk, hound and lady have moved on - what else can they do? Their lives have continued, as they must. Meanwhile, the crows are finding a use for his body. The circle is, in a way, complete. I have always suspected that The Twa Corbies is the older version of the song, and the slightly moralising "Three Ravens" is an attempt to correct the "savagery" of the original.

Arthur Rackham's illustration for the ballad
The Twa Corbies

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This kind of thinking often comes into play, I find, when people are looking at cards in a reading. We've all heard it a thousand times:  the Death card in Tarot rarely refers to death, it usually refers to change. When working with my own oracle deck, which is made up of plants, animals and aspects of the landscape and weather, I often see people jumping to the conclusion that everything from nettles, to foxes to ruins must have negative connotations. My answer to this is that everything follows it's nature. It is not good or bad. A fox is just being a fox, a rook is just being a rook. What can we learn by observing them? That is the important question!

As for the Twa Corbies. They are not evil birds. There is nothing spooky about them. After all, they didn't kill the knight, you can be sure. They are just helping to clean up, and putting his remains to good use in the process.

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