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
RG