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Magpie

by The Unthanks

on Mount the Air (2015)

One's for sorrow
Two's for joy
Three's for a girl and
Four's for a boy
Five's for silver
Six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told
Devil devil i defy thee
Devil devil i defy thee
Devil devil i defy thee

Oh the magpie brings us tidings
Of news both fair and foul
She's more cunning than the raven
More wise than any owl
For she brings us news of the harvest
Of the barley, wheat, and corn
And she knows when we'll go to our graves

And how we shall be born

One's for sorrow
Two's for joy
Three's for a girl and
Four's for a boy
Five's for silver
Six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told
Devil devil i defy thee

Devil devil i defy thee
Devil devil i defy thee

She brings us joy when from the right
Grief when from the left
Of all the news that's in the air
We know to trust her best
For she sees us at our labor

And she mocks us at our work
And she steals the eggs from out of the nest
And she can mob the hawk

One's for sorrow
Two's for joy
Three's for a girl and

Four's for a boy
Five's for silver
Six for gold

Seven's for a secret never told
Devil devil i defy thee
Devil devil i defy thee
Devil devil i defy thee

The priest he says we're wicked
But to worship the devil's bird
Ah but we respect the old ways

And we disregard his word
For we know they rest uneasy
As we slumber in the night
And we'll always leave out a little bit of meat
For the bird that's black and white

One's for sorrow
Two's for joy
Three's for a girl and
Four's for a boy
Five's for silver
Six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told