One's for sorrow, two's for joy
Three's for a girl and four's for a boy
Five's for silver, six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told
 
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
 
Oh, the magpie brings us tidings
Of news both fair and foul
She's more cunning than the raven
More wise than any owl
 
For she brings us news of the harvest
Of the barley, wheat, and corn
And she knows when we'll go to our graves
And how we shall be born
 
One's for sorrow, two's for joy
Three's for a girl and four's for a boy
Five's for silver, six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told
 
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
 
She brings us joy when from the right
Grief when from the left
Of all the news that's in the air
We know to trust her best
 
For she sees us at our labour
And she mocks us at our work
And she steals the eggs from out of the nest
And she can mob the hawk
 
One's for sorrow, two's for joy
Three's for a girl and four's for a boy
Five's for silver, six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told
 
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
 
The priest, he says we're wicked
But to worship the devil's birth
Ah, but we respect the old ways
And we disregard his word
 
For we know they rest uneasy
As we slumber in the night
And we'll always leave out a little bit of meat
For the bird that's black and white
 
One's for sorrow, two's for joy
Three's for a girl and four's for a boy
Five's for silver, six for gold
Seven's for a secret never told