4 ms·

Could be a gentle way for an elder to let their grandchild know that they are passing soon. Does the Grouse know? Probably not. The grandmother would though.

bluepizza 5y ago
That's a very nice way of seeing things. Thanks for that.
zikzak 5y ago
We had similar sayings around the number of crows you'd see together. As I got older, I realized if you spend enough time outside you'll see any combination of crows you might need to fit the rhyme and have a little talk. 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. We would say "Crow" instead of "for". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_%28nursery_rhyme%29?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_%28nursery_rhym...
- samvher 5y ago
  Huh - I know these numbers from a Counting Crows song (“A Murder of One”, one of my favorites). Never knew this came from cultural heritage.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  In rural England I've heard of that for magpies (which are corvids I think), but never crows themselves. Someone I know from Scotland sings a song with the same sort of pattern but about crows proper (like 'Ten green bottles' but for crows - "the last craw wasna' there at a'").
- wrboyce 5y ago
  Interesting, in the UK I know this for magpies but I also know some additional lines which are absent from the Wiki page… 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. EDIT: It seems the 8/9/10 lines are from Magpie, a British children’s TV show: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie_(TV_series)#Theme_song https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie_(TV_series)#Theme_son...

4 ms·

Could be a gentle way for an elder to let their grandchild know that they are passing soon. Does the Grouse know? Probably not. The grandmother would though.

by x3iv130f 5y ago

bluepizza 5y ago
That's a very nice way of seeing things. Thanks for that.
zikzak 5y ago
We had similar sayings around the number of crows you'd see together. As I got older, I realized if you spend enough time outside you'll see any combination of crows you might need to fit the rhyme and have a little talk. 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. We would say "Crow" instead of "for". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_%28nursery_rhyme%29?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_%28nursery_rhym...
- samvher 5y ago
  Huh - I know these numbers from a Counting Crows song (“A Murder of One”, one of my favorites). Never knew this came from cultural heritage.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  In rural England I've heard of that for magpies (which are corvids I think), but never crows themselves. Someone I know from Scotland sings a song with the same sort of pattern but about crows proper (like 'Ten green bottles' but for crows - "the last craw wasna' there at a'").
- wrboyce 5y ago
  Interesting, in the UK I know this for magpies but I also know some additional lines which are absent from the Wiki page… 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. EDIT: It seems the 8/9/10 lines are from Magpie, a British children’s TV show: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie_(TV_series)#Theme_song https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie_(TV_series)#Theme_son...