How we too easily get spooked when divining from nature.
As I was walking all alane | As I was walking all alone |
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.
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.
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