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There Were Three Ravens (Ravenscroft) / Twa Corbies (Traditional)

from The Salt Box EP by Michael Bentley

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about

Here are two versions of another long time favourite. This ballad (Child No. 26) is known in many guises and involves varying numbers of ravens or crows. I have used an instrumental version of There Were Three Ravens, taken from the Thomas Ravenscroft setting, as an introduction to a Scottish version (Twa Corbies, corbies being ravens), which I learned many years ago from a Corries record. I have tried to take this into a different direction with the arrangement, hopefully is still connected enough to its roots to be enjoyable.

lyrics

As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making mane,
the tane untae the other say-o,
"where shall we gang and dine the day?"

"In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new slain knight;
and naebody kens that he lies there-o,
but his hawk, his hound and his lady fair

"His hawk is tae the hunting gane,
his hound to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
his lady's ta'en anther mate-o,
so we mav mak our dinner sweet

"Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane,
and I'll pike out his bonny blue een,
wi ae lock o his gowden hair-o
we'll theek our nest when it grows bare-o

"Mony's an ane for him maks mane,
but none shall ken where he is gane;
o'er his white banes, when they are bare-o,
the wind shall blaw for evermair"

credits

from The Salt Box EP, released September 17, 2023

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The Foundry Berkeley, California

The Foundry was begun, originally, as an outlet for Michael Bentley's chapbooks in the mid-80s. It grew to include audio releases in the mid-90s, and now serves as an umbrella for artistic ventures from Bentley and his collaborators.

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