The Three Crows- Fray (Va.) 1870 collected 1920 Davis P
[From Davis, Traditional Ballads from Virginia, 1929 p. 137-145. Davis's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
10. THE THREE RAVENS
(Child, No. 26)
IN Virginia "The Three Ravens" have become "The Three Crows," sometimes "The Two Crows." The Virginia variants, though they may differ in many respects, both as to words and tune, are sufficiently alike to prove a similar origin. They lack at once the tenderness of the English "The Three Ravens" and the cynicism of the Scottish "The Twa Corbies." Their verbal resemblance with the Child texts ceases after the first two stanzas, and in spirit they are far removed from the human drama, touching or cynical, of the Child counterparts. Human actors have been entirely eliminated. "The Three Crows " is usually a comic animal song, which lends itself rather easily to improvisation and even parody. Two interesting civil war parodies are given as appendices to the ballad. C is a good example of comic addition to the old ballad. Minor variations in the several texts are exceedingly interesting.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 27; Brown, p. 9 (North Carolina); Bulletin 4,5, 7-10; Campbell and Sharp, No. 10 (Virginia; cf. Sharp, Songs,II, No. 5); Cox No. 6, and p. 522 (melody); Heart Songs, p. 485 Hudson, No. 5 (Mississippi); Jones, p. 301; Journal XX, 154 (Beatty, Wisconsin), 273 (Tatlock, Ohio); for additional references see Cox, p. 31, Journal, XXXI, 273.
P. "The Three Crows." Collected by Mr. John Stone. Given by Mr. J. D. Fray of Madison, Va. Madison County. November 3, 1920. With music. Mr. Fray "heard it over fifty years ago, when a traveling singing master sang it in his father's school. The words are lined out before singing" (Mr. Stone).
1 There were three crows sat on a tree
And they were black as crows could be.
2 One of these crows said to his mate
"What shall we have for bread to ate?"
3 "There lies a horse on yonder plain
That has been very lately[1] slain."
1. The manuscript spells the words "veri lateli," indicating an unusual pronunciation [of a hard "i" sound].