Don't care what I'm saying at the time. Mr Magpie get's a hello. You're strange if you don't know.

magpie magpie flitter and flee lift up your tail good luck come to me is another English country rhyme to ward off the magpies bad luck

Somewhere in my house is a book (printed around 1850) with a version that goes up to 20. I read it when I was about 14 and can only remember '13 for the devil' . I'm rather old now but would really appreciate it if someone could put the whole rhythm up here as I've no idea where the book is. Thanks in advance and hope.

I'm a Newcastle fan 😢.I know the sorrow . And some of the joy , more sorrow then Joy like 😅

I was shocked, once, to witness an adult magpie attack and kiill, by stabbing its beak through the chest of, a young fledgling from (presumably) another nest.

The birds know the birds r an excellent reference 😊

Very good little watch this, thank you 👍

Just a thought, the movie a clockwork Orange the music used when when the gang do their crimes is the theiveing magpie.

Vinger. And. Brown. Paper. Is. In. Rlm. To

My dad taught me it as a kid, in the UK as he watched a programme growing up called " Magpie" it was the theme tune .

To her dying day my sister hated seeing a single magpie; she was superstitious like that. She would actually start looking for a 2nd one, though I told her it didn't work like that.

So as a child in Yorkshire the old folk said the rhyme had a meaning. Magpies mate for life so seeing one alone could mean it was a widow and in the old days you always doffed your cap to a widow as a sign of respect. The rest of the rhyme makes sense like this too because two for joy means the magpie has found a mate 3 for a girl etc is the family growing as magpies teach their young for a long time after fledgling because they are very clever and inquisitive.

Ive been conditioned by my mum from childhood to count the magies when I see them. ..And if I saw one i have to say hello "Mr. Magpie"three times im middle aged now and still find myself doing it out of habit

Isnt this based on the myth of the valkerie brunhilda

I previously heard that the story related to a paedophile and serial killer which had to be hidden in a fairytale or myth because of its sensitive content. One more theory.

I always understood it to be man of the house getting the maid pregnant, 1 she is pregnant, 2 she is not, 3/4 girl or boy, five silver maid is paid off, gold she is paid off very well. 7: the secret is never told

What happened to the start of the rhyme? Here's what I learnt: Magpie Magpie chatter and flee, Turn your tail for good luck to me, One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a wedding, Four for a birth, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret that may not be told.

There was a tame magpie when I was very young the maggy was called Charlie it landed on top of my blonde hair and pecked at my head Mam chased him off me cheeky Charlie

im in n.ire, a salute and good morning mr magpie and enquiring about the wife and kids cancels the bad luck, ive seen people kissin there knuckles to ward of the bad luck 2

In the north we salute the magpie with respect to take away the bad luck.

"There once was a woman who lived in a shoe, she'd beat her kids till they were black and blue; now she's even older, living in a shu, but this time it's spelled S-H-U!".... ....From a poster on the wall of a CPS office.

Why didn’t the hairy man just shave his face?

Such BEAUTIFUL birds.

I always thought it was because they pair for life and if you see a solitary magpie then it was full of sorrow for not having or losing a partner

Magpies mate for life so, if you see a single adult Magpie then its mate has died.

Very interesting folklore. This could however be down to something much simpler. Country folk would know about the habits and life of magpies. They mate for life, so when one was seen it was sorrow for it may have lost it's mate. Two seen would be happy as it was a pair mates for life. Three for a girl bring the first blessing as the female bears the offspring continuing their line, four is a boy who will go off to have his own mate and diversify the species. Five for silver six for gold probably because these would have been shiny coins irresistible to magpies who love to collect and hoard shiny objects. Seven for a secret never to be told because unless you knew where they kept their hoard they would not tell you,it was secret. Sometimes these rhymes would be sung to children's games such as skipping and were nothing more than observations put into rhyme. It's amazing what you come up with when there's no books or tv lol. Love your videos. 👍🇬🇧

FYI "One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a wedding and four for a birth, six for rich, and seven for poor, eight for a witch, and I can tell you no more." This is the rhyme I know from growing up in the Ribble Valley near Pendle and the trials of 1612. Ad altiora!

Nature was never the enemy.... can't say same for the religious people and their brainwashing and fear-mongering.

I know people here in Wales, who salute a lone magpie 🤷‍♀️

It's All Myth ..old Wives tales nothing else

Being from Wales myself. It is not what I have learnt. One for sorrow means a magpie has no mate. Two for joy means they are partnered. 3 for a girl means they have produced one female offspring and 4 for a boy means they have a girl and boy offspring. As it is, I have 3 Magpies that live in a tree at the top of my garden. There was four last year, but It clearly grew up and moved on. The bigger male magpie always comes to the bottom of my garden path, where he stands there squawking until bird food gets taken out for him and his family. Then they all fly down to eat. In my garden this year was put a fountain bird bath and the magpies love to fly down drink the water or even bath in it. Iv even spotted bits of wet bread in the fountain- to my amusement😂. These birds have so much personality, I can see why such stories and fables are made up about them. A stand out unusual bird species.

I still don't leave anything shiny in my window. When I was a kid, my neighbour had an earring stolen by a magpie, from her open window while she was in the room. They used to take the foil lids from the milk bottles too, but most birds used to peck a hole in the lid to try and drink the cream from the top, not take the whole lid. I used to poke a hole in the lid and drink the cream too, then tell my Mum the birds have been at the milk again. hehehe I owned up to it recently, but she didn't believe me, she still blames the birds, even though robins, tits, sparrows etc, don't have beaks long enough to drink that much milk!

I have a pair of crows who visit me every day for nuts,the female crow zar zar even taps on my kitchen window if I’m busy!

Great job once again!

Great job!

I love,love,love your videos! I love the stories, the history, the images and your beautiful voice with that wonder accent! More please

It's interesting how the original "Snow White" story touches on a mother's sexual jealousy for her own daughter, something that sometimes occurs in real life and is not often talked about. 🤔

Wasn't that a huge amount of money then?

thank you

Ah, the sortes. Love me some sortes.

🖤🖤🖤

I still salute the first magpie I see each day

I have a young magpie that visits my garden every day. I aways say good morning and ask him how he is😊

I always greet magpies, good day mr magpie. :)

Anyone else remember coming home from school and watching the programme "Magpie" in the TV, which always started with a musical version of the poem. All my schoolmates preferred it to the stuffy, condescending, middle class BBC alternative "Blue Peter!"

Counting crows, as it came to me as a child - 1 for sorrow 2 for joy 3 for a girl 4 for a boy 5 for longing 6 for dearth 7 for plenty 8 for a birth 9 for a funeral 10 for a wedding 11 for remembrance 12 for forgetting

In the rural Southwest, we believe that magpies are lucky. Whenever you see a single magpie you say "Hello Mr Magpie, how's your wife and kids?" It prevents bad luck.

One saying here in the west of Ireland on seeing One magpie is hello Mr magpie hows the Mrs

What's merth ?

A silly superstition from an age of ignorance and fear.