One for Sorrow (nursery rhyme)

"One for Sorrow" Roud #20096
A magpie
Written by	Traditional
Published	c. 1780
Written	England
Language	English
Form	Nursery rhyme

For other uses, see One for Sorrow (disambiguation).

"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. 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.

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.^[1] The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquitites on Lincolnshire with the lyric:

One for sorrow,

Two for mirth,

Three for a wedding,

And four for death.^[1]

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!^[1]

On occasion, jackdaws, crows, bluebirds, and other Corvidae are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common.^[2] 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 Magpie in the 1960s and 70s.^[3]
• The rhyme was quoted for counting crows in the 1989 film Signs of Life.^[3]
• The band Counting Crows took their name from the version in the film Signs of Life.^[3] The rhyme itself is referenced in their song "A Murder of One", from the album August and Everything After.
• All of the preceding variations are used by different characters in Terry Pratchett's novel Carpe Jugulum, wherein the antagonists, a family of vampires, take the form of magpies.
• A version of the rhyme was partly used for Patrick Wolf'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 Rae's song "Choux Pastry Heart".
• A version of the rhyme was partly recited by the character Eric in The Crow.
• A version of the rhyme was recited by the character Ashe in The Crow: City of Angels.
• A version of the rhyme was recited by the character Eve in The Sandman: Parliament of Rooks, and later reprised by Delirium in The Sandman: The Wake.
• The rhyme is featured in the book The Seven Magpies by the late Monica Hughes, where it is a big part of the plot.
• Finnish melodic death metal band, Insomnium named their fifth studio album after the poem.
• Terry Pratchett uses the ryhme and a variant version in the book Carpe Jugulum.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} I. Opie and M. Tatem, eds, A Dictionary of Superstitions (Oxford University Press, 1989), pp. 235-6.
2. ^ J. M. Marzluff, A. Angell, P. R. Ehrlich, In the Company of Crows and Ravens (Yale University Press, 2007), p. 127.
3. ^ ^{a b c} D. Wilson, Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to How Band Names Were Formed (Cidermill Books, 2004), p. 21.

References

• Binney, Ruth (2004). Wise Words and Country Ways: Traditional Advice and Whether It Works Today. David & Charles. pp. 223. ISBN 0715318462.