Three Craws: A Lift-the-Flap Scottish Rhyme (Wee Kelpies)

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The Three Craws is a traditional Scottish song for children about three crows sitting on a wall (or sat upon a wa’ if you’re singing it in Scots) on a cold and frosty morning. They were joined for a time by Cilla and Artie's daughter, Jane, who left to be in the electro band Motormark, replaced by Kevin McLeod - the former company stage manager. The Singing Kettle is a folk music group who are well known for performing tradi… Read Full Bio ↴ The Singing Kettle is a folk music group who are well known for performing traditional children's songs with a distinctly Scottish flair.

I wasn’t able to find it. Well if anyone out there would like to record themselves singing it, I’d still love to post it! A song as part of the Gifting Every Child Resource, which is a perfect starting point for parents, teachers and youth organisations to build their own local collections, to ensure the songs, stories, dance steps and seasonal customs every child in Scotland should know. This is a Jacobite lament describing how Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as an Irish woman, was rowed over the Minch to the island of Skye to hide from the British soldiers. This is perhaps the best known Jacobite song but it wasn’t written at the time. The words were written by Sir Harold Boulton, around 120 years ago. This is an old playground favourite. ‘Aleerie’ is a very old word that means holding your leg crooked. You bounce the ball three times, then lift your leg and bounce the ball under it when you come to ‘Aleerie’. The song was also used for skipping, and it is very easy to make up your own verses.

Curriculum

Shona sent me this nice Scottish song a couple of days ago. Here’s the song and what Shona said about it… What makes the book really special is the many comments from Mama Lisa’s correspondents who have shared stories and memories from their own lives. The memories of childhood touch us forever! This song has been known in Scotland for a very long time but some people say it came from Newcastle. A ‘whippie’ was used to whip a wooden top so it would spin and a ‘souple tam’ is a wooden doll with limbs that move. Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped from Scotland and went to France. The Highland Scots who fought for him and sheltered him in secret after the terrible battle of Culloden, even though big rewards were offered for him, wish he would return again. This song was written at least 30 years after this happened. Originally developed for TES Teaching Resources and kindly reproduced here with permission from TES and Christina Stewart.

How in Italy it’s not Santa Claus who gives gifts to all the children. It’s La Befana, a friendly witch! How Scandinavians mark the end of the season by “plundering” the Christmas Tree on St. Knut’s Day. That’s a fun way to get children to help with the post-holiday clean-up!

Encourage your children to retell the story of the Three Craws with our Three Craws Story Spoon Image Cut-Outs. This is also a fun craft that your learners are sure to enjoy! The Three Craws song is ideal for exploring rhyme and teaching Early Level children more about Scots language. We have a range of resources to support the teaching of this fun Scots song both in school and at home. It is very easy for people to make up their own fun verses for this song.The lyrics in this version of the song were made up by singer Christine Kydd with classes P3 and P4/5 from Inchture Primary, in the Carse of Gowrie between Perth and Dundee, for the On The Hoof project in 2009. Scots is a rich and varied language used throughout Scotland, and it is great to use resources like these to raise pupils’ awareness of it. While it is still spoken around the country, younger generations may not understand it as well as it is becoming less commonly used. The result of this has meant that it has been listed as a “vulnerable language” by UNESCO.

Thanks for sharing your grandma’s song with us! If you’re able to record it, of course we’d love to hear this song too. i (pronounced as in sit – meaning the) first craw wiz (was) greetin (crying) for is (his) ma (mother) Introduce youngsters to some accessible Scots language with family favourite, “Three Craws” from Christina Stewart. The actor and comedian Duncan Macrae (1905 -1967) used to do a good rendition of this poem as one of his many "party pieces." Here is a version by Ewan McVicar that you'll find in one of the YouTube videos below. The last line showed up some 20 years ago.The second part presents beloved traditions and songs from many different nations. The songs are given in the original languages and with English translations. Mama Lisa’s Christmas Around The World is a celebration of the diversity and love with which many different cultures mark this joyful time of year.