Is it really unlucky if you see one Magpie?

Question

Is the rhyme true.........? 1 For Sorrow 2 for Joy, 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy. Mind has gone blank please someone tell me the rest of the rhyme!!!!!!!! Driving me insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret never to be told.

Answer 2

1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret that's never to be told. 8 for a wish, 9 for a kiss, and 10 is a bird you must not miss.

Technically, no, it's just a superstition, and by definition, a superstition is an untrue folk-based belief.

The magpie superstition originates from China, where there goes a story that (verrrrrrry briefly) a magpie dropped a piece of red fruit from a tree, and a woman below ate it. The woman became pregnant, and had a baby boy. The baby boy grew up strong and heroic, and led the people, but one day they were attacked, and all but one smalle boy was killed. That boy stood very still and a magpie landed on his head, leading the attackers to mistake him for a shrub or branch, and ensuring his safety. Since then (roughly the 1600s,) it has been believed that magpies are good luck.

As for the rhyme, it was most likely just written in a sing song manner by the people who heard the legend, and the actual numbers are probably of little real matter.

You;re supposed to salute a ingle magpie and offer your regards to his wife and family so he won't bring you bad luck...

Hope that was of interest if little else lol.

Answer 3

Here is something to get your teeth stuck into....

.....Folklore

A hopscotch game with the magpie rhymeThe magpie is common in European folklore. Generally speaking, the bird is associated with unhappiness and trouble. This may be because of its well known tendency to "steal" shiny objects, as well as its harsh, chittering call.

An old English folk tale states that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, all of the world's birds wept and sang to comfort him in his agony. The only exception was the magpie, and for this, it is forever cursed.

In Scottish folklore, (in a story possibly related to the above) magpies were long reviled for allegedly carrying a drop of Satan's blood under their tongues.

In the British Isles a widespread (mainly found in England and Scotland and less common in Wales and Northern Ireland) traditional rhyme records the myth (it is not clear whether it has been seriously believed) that seeing magpies predicts the future, depending on how many are seen. There are many regional variations on the rhyme, which means that it is impossible to give a definitive version.

The rhyme runs:

One for anger
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for rich
Six for poor
Seven for a witch
I can tell you no more.
Alternate versions of this counting rhyme include:

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for a birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven's the Devil his own sel'
Sometimes (but rarely), three extra lines are added:

Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird that you won't want to miss.
According to Terry Pratchett:

There are many rhymes about magpies, but none of them are very reliable, because they are not the ones the magpies know.

-from Carpe Jugulum

A related superstition is that one should make sure to greet magpies - perhaps saying "Hello, Mr Magpie" - when encountering lone birds; this possibly stems from the unlucky connotations attributed by the rhymes to seeing merely one magpie. To cancel out this bad luck, and with relation to the second line of the verse accounting for joy or mirth, lone magpies are often greeted "Hello Mr Magpie, how is your wife/where is your wife?" Another superstition relating to magpies' supposed bad luck is that upon seeing a lone magpie one should repeat the words "I defy thee" seven times. Another superstition is that on seeing a lone magpie one should pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to pinch themselves. Another is that if a lone Magpie is seen, one should salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you.

A British childrens' TV show called Magpie featured a theme song based on the "one for sorrow" rhyme, and featured a large cartoon Magpie as its mascot or logo.

Answer 4

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a story never to be told.

They say that Magpies mate for life. If you see one on its own, it it said to have lost it's mate, that is why it is "One for sorrow" etc.

Answer 5

5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told
8 a wish
9 a kiss
10 is a bird you just cant miss

ps. and for those idiots that go round killing them....shame on you.
everything on this planet has a purpose, except for the arrogance of Man.

Answer 6

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
And four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for a birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven's the Devil his own sel'.

One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for rich
Six for poor
Seven for a witch
I can tell you no more.

Answer 7

5 for silver 6 for gold 7 for a secret that should never be told hope that help i hate the damn things

Answer 8

One for sorrow
Two for Joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for Gold
Seven for a secret never to be told.

Damm - too late! Damm

Answer 9

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told

Answer 10

1 for sorrow
2 for joy
3 for a girl
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told

SAD I know but I watched the prog when I was a nipper