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One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)
Encyclopedia
"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme
about magpie
s. According to an old superstition
, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 20096.
with the lyric:
One of the earliest versions to extend this was published, with variations, in M. A. Denham's Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons (London, 1846):
On occasion, jackdaw
s, crow
s, bluebird
s, and other Corvidae
are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common. Blackbirds have also been used in place of magpies (probably due to their coloring), though they belong to the family Turdidae.
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
about magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...
s. According to an old superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 20096.
Lyrics
There is considerable variation in the lyrics used. The following is perhaps the most common modern version:- One for sorrow
- Two for joy
- Three for a girl
- Four for a boy
- Five for silver
- Six for gold
- Seven for a secret, never to be told
- Eight for a wish
- Nine for a kiss
- Ten for a bird you must not miss
Origins
The rhyme has its origins in superstitions connected with magpies, considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in England, at least as far back as the early sixteenth century. The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquitites on LincolnshireLincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
with the lyric:
- One for sorrow,
- Two for mirth,
- Three for a wedding,
- And four for death.
One of the earliest versions to extend this was published, with variations, in M. A. Denham's Proverbs and Popular Saying of the Seasons (London, 1846):
- One for sorrow,
- Two for luck; (or mirth)
- Three for a wedding,
- Four for death; (or birth)
- Five for silver,
- Six for gold;
- Seven for a secret,
- Not to be told;
- Eight for heaven,
- Nine for [hell]
- And ten for the d[evi]l's own sell!
On occasion, jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
s, crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, bluebird
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family . Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and red, plumage...
s, and other Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common. Blackbirds have also been used in place of magpies (probably due to their coloring), though they belong to the family Turdidae.
In popular culture
- A version of the rhyme was used as the theme music to the British TV programme MagpieMagpie (TV series)Magpie was a children's television programme shown on ITV from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It was a magazine format show intended to compete with the BBC's Blue Peter, but attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture...
in the 1960s and 70s. - The rhyme was quoted for counting crows in the 1989 film Signs of LifeSigns of Life (1989 film)Signs of Life, also known as One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, is a film by American director John David Coles, released May 5, 1989. The film stars Beau Bridges, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Arthur Kennedy...
. - The band Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
took their name from the version in the film Signs of Life. The rhyme itself is referenced in their song "A Murder of One", from the album August and Everything AfterAugust and Everything AfterAugust and Everything After is the first commercially released album of the American rock band Counting Crows, released September 14, 1993....
. - All of the preceding variations are used by different characters in Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's novel Carpe JugulumCarpe JugulumCarpe Jugulum ) is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the Discworld series. It was first published in 1998....
, wherein the antagonists, a family of vampires, take the form of magpies. - A version of the rhyme was partly used for Patrick WolfPatrick WolfPatrick Wolf is an English-Irish singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola...
's song "Magpie". - A version of the rhyme was partly used for RebekkaMaria's song "Pica Pica".
- A version of the rhyme was partly used for Band Of Skulls's song "Patterns".
- A version of the rhyme was partly used for Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
's song "Choux Pastry Heart". - A version of the rhyme was partly recited by the character Eric in The CrowThe CrowThe Crow is a comic book series created by James O'Barr. The series was originally written by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. It was later published by Caliber Comics in 1989, becoming an underground success, and later adapted into a...
. - A version of the rhyme was recited by the character Ashe in The Crow: City of AngelsThe Crow: City of AngelsThe Crow: City of Angels is a 1996 action film directed by Tim Pope. It is a sequel to the 1994 cult film The Crow.-Plot:The film is set in Los Angeles, where drug king Judah Earl controls it all...
. - A version of the rhyme was recited by the character Eve in The Sandman: Parliament of Rooks, and later reprised by DeliriumDelirium (DC Comics)Delirium is one of The Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaiman's comic book series The Sandman.-Fictional character history:Delirium, known to the Greek culture as Mania, is the youngest of the Endless, yet still older than the rest of existence. She is usually quite short, and thin, and...
in The Sandman: The WakeThe Sandman: The WakeThe Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
. - The rhyme is featured in the book The Seven Magpies by the late Monica HughesMonica Hughes-External links:***...
, where it is a big part of the plot. - Finnish melodic death metal band, InsomniumInsomniumInsomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band from Joensuu, Finland. Their new album "One for Sorrow" was released October 2011. On September 9th, 2011 Insomnium released the music video Through The Shadows from their 2011 album One For Sorrow....
named their fifth studio album after the poem. - Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
uses the ryhme and a variant version in the book Carpe JugulumCarpe JugulumCarpe Jugulum ) is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the Discworld series. It was first published in 1998....
.