Anonymous - The Twa Corbies - Ballad

Song Meaning

Two ravens, or 'corbies,' are discussing their next meal, setting a stark and unsettling scene. The initial image of them 'making a mane' suggests a mournful sound, but it quickly becomes clear this is a grim anticipation of a feast. The narrator overhears this conversation while walking alone, an observer to nature's brutal indifference. The central tension arises from the stark contrast between the knight's former status and his current forgotten state. He was once attended by a hawk, a hound, and a 'lady fair,' but now, with his hunting dog gone, his falcon hunting, and his lady remarried, he is utterly abandoned. This highlights the ephemeral nature of loyalty and companionship when one's power or life is extinguished. The lyrics masterfully use vivid, macabre imagery to detail the corbies' plans for the knight's remains. They intend to perch on his 'white hause-bane' and pluck out his 'bonny blue een,' even using his 'gowden hair' to thatch their nest. This chillingly practical approach to death, reducing a noble figure to mere building materials, underscores the finality of his demise and the complete erasure of his identity. This ballad's effectiveness lies in its unflinching portrayal of mortality and the natural order. The corbies' matter-of-fact tone strips away any romanticism surrounding death, presenting it as a simple biological process. The final lines, 'Oer his white banes, when they are bare / The wind sall blaw for evermair,' leave the listener with a profound sense of oblivion, where even the memory of the knight will eventually be swept away.