"The twa Gorbies" (Krähenfrass)

Henkersbraut · Post by **Henkersbraut** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:20 am

Hi all

I've been away for a while, as I have too bleeding much to do at Uni, but I just need to ask for some lyrics to some songs that were recorded by a band called Catriona in 1990. Nobody has probably heard of them, but my problem is that the songs are sung with a VERY THICK German accent by a man who has "dechippered" the songs phonetically (I did ask him for the lyrics, but he didn't have them...) from tapes. So I turn to you lot...

Does anyone here have the lyrics for a song called "the twa Gorbies"?

Forgot the list of songs at home, so I'll add to this thread tomorrow or so.

Have a nice weekend, all!

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 7:44 am

Actually, that's Corbies. The Twa Corbies is an old Scottish song recorded in the Child ballads. Here's the lyrics:

TWA CORBIES

As I cam' by yon auld house end
I saw twa corbies sittin thereon,
The tane unto the t'other did say,
"O whare sall we gae dine the day?" (repeat last line)

"Whare but by yon new fa'en birk,
There, there lies a new slain knight;
Nae mortal kens that he lies there
But his hawks and hounds, and his ladye fair.

"We'll sit upon his bonny breast bane,
And we'll pick out his bonny gray een;
We'll set our claws intil' his yallow hair
And big our bow'r, it's a' blawn bare.

My mother clekit me o' an egg,
And brought me up i' the feathers gray,
And bade me flee where'er I wad,
For winter wad be my dying day.

Now winter it is come and past,
And a' the birds are biggin' their nests,
But I'll flee high aboon them a'
And sing a sang for summer's sake.

Child #26
From Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads, Bronson
Collected from Thomas Shortreed, Jedburgh

Hope that helps,

djm

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 12:00 pm

Actually it is usually sung with a different set of words.

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 12:37 pm

Well, Peter, now that HB has the correct spelling, he can go on the web and find a version that meets his tastes/needs. Here's one good place to start: http://www.mudcat.org/

djm

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 1:16 pm

HOOOH getting touchy are we? I was just in the door after driving back from Galway and needed some time [and a few cups of coffee] before I set out to find the words, but here goes

As I was walking al alane,
I heard twa corbies making their mane;
The tane unto the tither did say O
What sall we gang and dine the day O
What sall we gang and dine the day

In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new-slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there O
But his hawk and his hound and his lady fair O
But his hawk and his hound and his lady fair

His hound is to the huntin' gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild fowl hame,
His lady's ta'en anither mate,
Sae we mak' our dinner sweet O
Sae we mak' our dinner sweet

Ye'll sit on his white hause bane
And I'll pike out his bonnie blue e'en
Wi'ae lock o' his gowden hair O
We'll theek our nest whar it grows bare O
We'll theek our nest whar it grows bare

Mony' the ane for mak's mane
But nane sal ken whar he is gane
Owre white banes when they are bare O
The wind shall blow for evermair
The wind shall blow for evermair

This version is the one usually sung in the folkrevival, it was recorded a lot during the 60s and 70s, I remember Steeleye Span among the recording artists. I copied the words just now from a collection 'Songs of the North, gathered together from the Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland' ed A.C MacLeod and Harold Boulton. No year but given the size of the two stout volumes, binding, print etc my copy would be from the 1880s

The Sporting Pitchfork · Sat Nov 01, 2003 11:09 pm

What? a Scots ballad with more than one version of the lyrics?!

So what? They're all like that.

It's a good thing nobody was looking for the "correct" lyrics to "The Twa Sisters." There must be hundreds of versions of that one...

My personal favorite rendition of "The Twa Corbies" is the one Old Blind Dogs did. Don't remember which album it's on though...

Henkersbraut · Post by **Henkersbraut** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 2:33 am

djm/Laban: Thank you ever so much! No wonder I couldn't find the thing online when the title was wrong... (And Henkersbraut is a "she"...)

Peter Laban: by the way, did you know that in Norway we have a kind of candy called Laban? Laban seigmenn - tiny men with fruit flavour and sugar coating. They have the slogan "Laban strekker seg litt lenger" - Laban stretches himself a little further

Pitchfork: no, you don't say? Does that mean I will never find The One Correct version of (Ascending) The Haughs O'Cromdale either...? Buggar.

Ok, the other two songs I would love to get some help on (yes, I have tried searching online, but haven't really found anything helpful):

* The Rightful King
* I don't know what the second one is called as I only have a German version of it (called "Die Braut und die Bräutigam", but it is supposed to be based on an Irish / Scottish song. Basically it is a not-very-nice song about if you bride has said not very positive traits - be nice and kill her and let her suffering end (If your bride has the skin of cattle / and the teeth of a horse / sharpen your axe quickly / then she will be freed)

And as a curiousity I'll mention that these twa corbies have been translated to German (thus the "Krähenfrass") - if anyone is interested, the lyrics can be found at http://www.destinationsally.com/mcmxcv. ... aehenfrass

Ok, that was all. I'll shut up now

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:09 am

Peter, better work on that sugar-coating!

HB, have you tried Mudcat? Here is a thread on The Rightful King from there, giving some suggestions of various tune names to research further, some versions of lyrics, and even some recorded sources: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26070#403199

djm

Post by **Nanohedron** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 1:18 pm

Henkersbraut, I have very little understanding of the German language at all, but am just wondering: does the title "Krähenfrass" mean something like "The Crows' Feeding"?

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 6:14 pm

Nanohedron wrote:Henkersbraut, I have very little understanding of the German language at all, but am just wondering: does the title "Krähenfrass" mean something like "The Crows' Feeding"?

Henkersbraut = executioner's bride (or hangman's bride)
Krähenfrass = crow food or fodder

I think Krähenfrass is actually an old term for the corpse of a criminal: As in, don't do it or you'll be crow food. That is, hanged outside town and left to rot on the gibbet where crows come an pick at the carcass.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Thu Nov 06, 2003 7:41 pm

Bloomfield wrote:
Nanohedron wrote:Henkersbraut, I have very little understanding of the German language at all, but am just wondering: does the title "Krähenfrass" mean something like "The Crows' Feeding"?
Henkersbraut = executioner's bride (or hangman's bride)
Krähenfrass = crow food or fodder

I think Krähenfrass is actually an old term for the corpse of a criminal: As in, don't do it or you'll be crow food. That is, hanged outside town and left to rot on the gibbet where crows come an pick at the carcass.

Thanks, Bloo! I guess I wasn't far off. *pats self on back*

A bit spooky that a hangman's bride wants to know of a tune about crow fodder.

Henkersbraut · Post by **Henkersbraut** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:40 am

djm wrote:HB, have you tried Mudcat?

Weird, I actually did try Mudcat (it gave me a couple of other lyrics I was looking for as well), but thanks again for the link!

Bloomfield: yup, that's correct. Ah, you people here know <i>everything</i>

Nanohedron: I am really as sweet as the day is long (well, it's getting dark here already, so that might have been bad choice of words, thinking about it) so don't you worry *smiles*

AndrewMac · Post by **AndrewMac** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 5:17 pm

Henkersbraut,

* The Rightful King

Is it possible that you are looking for the Scots ballad known (one variant) as

"It Was ('Twas) A' (all) For Oor (our) Rightfu' King?"

If so, there are several sources - and spellings - for that. I think the Corries performed and recorded it, but can't be certain without checking my home music library, which at this instant, is, of course, at home.

Good fortune in your search,
AndrewMac

Henkersbraut · Post by **Henkersbraut** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:21 am

AndrewMac wrote:
* The Rightful King
Is it possible that you are looking for the Scots ballad known (one variant) as

"It Was ('Twas) A' (all) For Oor (our) Rightfu' King?"

Yup, and I found it too! Thanks

It would be so much easier to like pop music. I would probably not have to look for the lyrics either, seeing as "I love you / but you hate me/ but you don't know who I am / but you love another / love other men / but I don't dare to tell you" etc etc isn't that hard to figure out