"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's
nursery rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
From t ...
about
magpies
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...
. According to an old
superstition
A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
, the number of magpies seen tells if one will have bad or good luck.
Lyrics
There is considerable variation in the lyrics used. A common modern version is:
A longer version of the rhyme recorded in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
continues:
Origins
![Piero della Francesca - Nativity - WGA17620](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Piero_della_Francesca_-_Nativity_-_WGA17620.jpg)
The rhyme has its origins in
ornithomancy
Ornithomancy (modern term from Greek ''ornis'' "bird" and ''manteia'' "divination"; in Ancient Greek: οἰωνίζομαι "take omens from the flight and cries of birds") is the practice of reading omens from the actions of birds followed in man ...
superstitions connected with
magpies
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...
, considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in Britain, at least as far back as the early sixteenth century.
[I. Opie and M. Tatem, eds, ''A Dictionary of Superstitions'' (Oxford University Press, 1989), pp. 235-6.] The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in
John Brand's ''Observations on Popular Antiquities'' on
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
with the lyric:
One of the earliest versions to extend this was published, with variations, in
Michael Aislabie Denham
Michael Aislabie Denham (1801''1841 England Census'', ''1851 England Census'' – 10 September 1859) was an English merchant and collector of folklore.
Life
A native of Gainford, County Durham, Denham was in business at Kingston-upon-Hull in the e ...
's ''Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons'' (London, 1846):
On occasion,
jackdaw
Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, the crows and ravens (''Corvus''). ''Coloeus'' is sometimes treated as a subgenus of ''Corvus'', including by the IUCN.Madge & Burn (1994) ...
s,
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...
s and other
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 13 ...
are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common. In eastern India, the erstwhile British colonial bastion, the
common myna is the bird of association.
A version of the rhyme became familiar to many UK children when it became the theme tune of the children's TV show
''Magpie'', which ran from 1968 to 1980. The popularity of this version is thought to have displaced the many regional versions that had previously existed.
Popular culture
The name of the rock band
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...
derives from the rhyme, which is featured in the song "
A Murder of One" on the band's debut album, ''August and Everything After''.
The first track on
Seanan McGuire
Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in; born January 5, 1978 in Martinez, California) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/ horror and the pseudon ...
's album ''Wicked Girls'', also titled "Counting Crows", features a modified version of the rhyme.
The artist
S. J. Tucker's song, "Ravens in the Library," from her album ''Mischief'', utilizes the modern version of the rhyme as a chorus, and the rest of the verses relate to the rhyme in various ways.
David Dodds used the rhyme as the chorus for his song "Magpie"; it also included the lyric "Devil, Devil, I defy thee", having been inspired by an older woman he gave a lift to once in his new car. As a supposed counter-curse to the bad luck brought by witnessing a magpie, the woman would say the expression and spit whnever she saw a one during their journey. The English band
The Unthanks
The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may cal ...
recorded a version of this song on their 2015 album "Mount the Air".
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense.
His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the ''Alex Rider'' series, and ''T ...
used the rhyme as the organizing scheme for the story-within-a-story in his 2016 novel
Magpie Murders and in the subsequent television adaptation of the same name.
The American alternative rock band,
The Innocence Mission
The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris (née McCullough), her husband (and fellow guitarist) Don Peris, and Mike Bitts (on bass guitar). Although all me ...
, featured a song called "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy" on their 2003 release,
Befriended. It was written and sung by Karen Peris.
The nursery rhyme's name was used for a book written by
Mary Downing Hahn
Mary Downing Hahn (born December 9, 1937) is an American writer of young adult novels and a former school librarian. She is known for books such as ''Stepping On The Cracks'' and ''Wait Till Helen Comes''. She published her first book in 1979 and ...
, ''One for Sorrow: A Ghost Story''. The book additionally contains references to the nursery rhyme.
Notes
References
*
*{{cite AV media , title=
The Crow: City of Angels , year= 1996
English nursery rhymes
English folk songs
English children's songs
Traditional children's songs
Songs about birds
Songs about luck
Birds in mythology