Two Crows- Martha Davis (Va.) 1915 Davis B
[From Davis, Traditional Ballads from Virginia, 1929 p. 137-145. Davis's notes follow.
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.
B. "Two Crows." contributed by Miss Martha M. Davis, of Harrisonburg, Va. Generally sung in the vicinity, Rockingham County. Oct. 5, 1915. "This is quite generally known and sung to the air of 'Bonnie Doon.' " (Miss Davis). The last stanza (cf. D, E) reminds one of the famous sea song " Poor Old Horse," popular in both England and America. For a text and references
see Gray, P. 104.
1 There were two crows sat on a tree,
And they were black as they could be.
2 The one crow said unto his mate,
"What shall we do for food to eat?"
3 "There is an old horse on yonders plain
By evil nature lately slain.
4 "We'll pounce upon his old breastbone[1]
And pick his eyes out one by one."
5 "Old horse, old horse, you've carried many passengers,
But soon you'll be ground up and blown into snassengers."
1. Sometimes backbone.