Question: what do the American folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary and the German countertenor Andreas Scholl have in common? Answer: they both sang the English folk ballad The three Ravens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Ravens Not having the vocal qualification of any of them, I tried this song with mandolin and guitar:
Very clear and well played. I'm going to look up Peter, Paul and May's version. That group was a favourite of mine when I was young...long time ago.
Lovely arrangement, CC. Well played too. We have our own version of this old song here in Scotland, The Twa Corbies (The Two Crows), telling the tale of the two birds discussing where they will dine that day. They are aware of a newly-slain knight lying "In Behint you auld Fail Dyke" (behind that old turf wall). His wife has gone off with a new lover, so has she been instrumental in his demise? The crows share out the spoils in the gruesome lines: "Ye'll sit on his white hause bane, and I'll pyke oot his bonnie blue e'en, Wi' ae lock o' his gowden hair, we'll theek oor nest when it grows bare". No wastage with our Scottish corbies - not only food, but nesting material too!
Lovely tune and rendition. Interesting story - I thought of the Twa Corbies at once, too. The English version seems to be very tame in comparison, but that seems to be a hallmark of Scottish songs in general: their unrelenting explicitness. I like the Steeleye Span verison of it:
