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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Folkie Frank ADD: Magpie (Maddy Prior) (3) Lyr Req: Magpie by Maddy Prior 16 Sep 19


I need some help with the lyrics to Magpie by Maddy Prior, a variation of the original "nursery" song. It is track #16 off her 2008 album 'Seven For Old England'. I managed to transcribe most of the lyrics, but have a few errors.

This is the studio recording I'm trying to transcribe:
Studio version

This is a live version of the song:
Live version

These are the lyrics (with errors) that I managed so far:

[Verse]
Magpie, you lie
You lied in your teeth, you said you were no thief
You came at leisure, you stole your pleasure
You left with treasure, my heart

[Chorus]
One for sorrow, two for joy
Three for a wedding, four for a boy
Five for a fiddler, six for a dance
Seven for Old England and eight for France

[Verse]
Magpie, so sly
Swoop down to your perch, with beady eye(s) in search
You're all incapable of the blackbird's startle
Will end you vision, my heart

[Chorus]


[Instrumental]


[Verse]
Magpie, fly high
Way out of my reach, you chatter and you screech
You wear the talons of the peregrine falcon
That kills for certain, my heart

[Chorus]
One for sorrow, two for joy
Three for a wedding, four for a boy
Five for a fiddler, six for a dance
Seven for Old England
Seven for Old England
Seven for Old England

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.


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