Dickie Bird

DESCRIPTION: "Up in a tree a Dickie Bird, Dim sol bim bam ball sol do sol dim, Up in a tree a Dickie Bird... sat." "Below it crawled a furry black... cat." " He said for dinner I shall have... you," "Then all at once the Dickie Bird... flew"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 2009 (mudcat.org thread "Upon a tree a cuckoo/Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck")
KEYWORDS: bird animal hunting campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 150, "Dickie Bird" (notes only)
NOTES [135 words]: Apparently an English song derived from the German "Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck" -- "In a tree a cuckoo." There are English versions which refer to a cuckoo rather than a dickie bird, but I don't know if they are different translations or revisions. Alternately, could this have been influenced by "Two Little Blackbirds," which also sometimes has "Dickie Birds" rather than blackbirds?
"Dickie bird" is a nickname for the dicksissel, a sparrow-sized bird with plumage rather like a meadowlark; they are abundant in the central United States in summer and along the southern and southeastern American coasts in winter. And they do tend to perch for a long time and sing, according to my bird books. But it is supposedly named from its song, "Dick dick dick ciss ciss ciss," which doesn't sound much like this. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF150D

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography