Magpie, The

DESCRIPTION: "I lingered near a cottage door, And a magpie said, 'Come in, come in,' And a magpie said, 'Come in.'" He meets a girl; the magpie says to sit down, and then encourages him to court her. Her father and brother chase him out; the magpie says "Good-bye."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Hamer-GreenGroves)
KEYWORDS: bird courting humorous abuse
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hamer-GreenGroves, pp. 34-36, "The Magpie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1145
NOTES [41 words]: The theme of talking magpies causing trouble is fairly common; see "The Magpie's Nest" and "The Maid and the Magpie" in addition to this song. I strongly suspect that several of these songs are related, but I'm not sure which is the source. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: HaGr034

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