Three Black Crows- Adams (Va.) 1880, 1915 Davis F
[From Davis, Traditional Ballads from Virginia, 1929 p. 137-145. Davis's notes follow. This appears to be derived from the college/minstrel version, see head page. The tune, although it may resemble other minor key melodies, is usually a slow tempo rendition of the melody of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."
R. Matteson 2014]
10. THE THREE RAVENS
(Child, No. 26)
IN Virginia "The Three Ravens" have become "The Three Crows," som€etimes "The Two Crows." The Virginia variants, though they may differ in many resp€ects, both as to words and tune, are sufficiently alike to prove a similar origin. They lack at once the tenderness of the English "The Three Ravens" and the cynicism of the Scottish "The Twa Corbies." Their verbal resemblance with the Child texts ceases after the first two stanzas, and in spirit they are far removed from the human drama, touching or cynical, of the Child counterparts. Human actors have been entirely eliminated. "The Three Crows " is usually a comic animal song, which lends itself rather easily to improvisation and even parody. Two interesting civil war parodies are given as appendices to the ballad. C is a good example of comic addition to the old ballad. Minor variations in the several texts are exceedingly interesting.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 27; Brown, p. 9 (North Carolina); Bulletin 4,5, 7-10; Campbell and Sharp, No. 10 (Virginia; cf. Sharp, Songs,II, No. 5); Cox No. 6, and p. 522 (melody); Heart Songs, p. 485 Hudson, No. 5 (Mississippi); Jones, p. 301; Journal XX, 154 (Beatty, Wisconsin), 273 (Tatlock, Ohio); for additional references see Cox, p. 31, Journal, XXXI, 273.
F. "Three Black Crows." Collected by Miss Juliet Fauntleroy. Sung by Mr. Thomas T. Adams, at Blacksburg, Va. Montgomery County. November 27, 1915. "Mr. Adams first heard this sung among the students at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, Harrisonburg, about 1880, to the tune of 'Hark, from the Tomb a Doleful Sound.' The leader would sing two lines,
and the rest would join in the chorus" (Miss Fauntleroy).
1 There were three crows in yonders town
As black as e'er three crows could be.
Chorus: They all flapped their wings and cried:
"Caw, caw, caw."
2. Says one old crow unto his mate,
"What shall we do for grub to ate ? "
3. "I see a pig in yonders sty,
With three cork legs and one glass eye.
4. "We'll perch ourselves on his backbone
And pluck his eyes out, one by one."