Northh America - America (USA)

Hi! says the blackbird, sitting on a chair,
Once I courted a lady fair;
She proved fickle and turned her back,
And ever since then I'm dressed in black.

Hi! says the blue-jay as she flew,
If I was a young man I'd have two;
If one proved fickle and chanced for to go,
I'd have a new string to my bow.

Hi! says the little leather winged bat,
I will tell you the reason that,
The reason that I fly in the night
Is because I lost my heart's delight.

Hi! says the little mourning dove,
I'll tell you how to gain her love;
Court her night and court her day,
Never give her time to say "0 nay."

Hi! said the woodpecker sitting on a fence,
Once I courted a handsome wench;
She proved fickle and from me fled,
And ever since then my head's been red.

Hi! says the owl with my eyes so big,
If I had a hen I'd feed like a pig;
But here I sit on a frozen stake,
Which causes my poor heart to ache.

Hi! says the swallow, sitting in a barn,
Courting, I think, is no harm.
I pick my wings and sit up straight
And hope every young man will choose him a mate.

Hi! says the hawk unto the crow,
If you ain't black then I don't know.
Ever since old Adam was born,
You've been accused of stealing corn.

Hi! says the crow unto the hawk,
I understand your great, big talk;
You'd like to pounce and catch a hen,
But I hope the farmer will shoot you then.

Hi! says the robin, with a little squirm,
I wish I had a great, big worm;
I would fly away into my nest;
I have a wife I think is the best.

This song appears in Songs from the Hills of Vermont (1919). According to Southern Mountain Folksongs this song is probably derived from Child Ballad, The Three Ravens. If it were originally a ballad it has lost its story. There is also a minstrel version Says the Blackbird that was once popular in America.

The bird is most commonly a blackbird, crow, woodpecker, redbird or robin; however, it also appears as a hawk, crane, bobwhite, hummingbird, owl, turtle dove, tomtit, and sapsucker. Several of the variants have comments on the fickleness of women and on pulling up corn.

Variants of the song include: The Hated Blackbird and the Crow, The Blackbird and the Crow, Said the Blackbird to the Crow, The Crow Song, Too Hoo, Says de Owl, and Sapsuck A-Sucking Up a Hollow Gum Tree.

This is directly related to The Birds Harmony, published in 1681-2. A later version The Bird's Lamentation was printed in 1681-2.