The Cuckoo (song)

"The Cuckoo" (Roud 413) is a traditional English folk song. It has been covered by many musicians in several different styles. An early notable recorded version was performed by Appalachian folk musician Clarence Ashley with a unique banjo tuning.

The title of the song has multiple variations, including The Coo-Coo, The Coo-Coo Bird, The Cuckoo Bird, and The Cuckoo Is A Pretty Bird.

Lyrics usually include the line (or a slight variation):

The cuckoo is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies; she brings us glad tidings, and she tells us no lies.

According to Thomas Goldsmith of The Raleigh News & Observer, "The Cuckoo" is reportedly descended from an old folk ballad; it's an interior monologue where the singer "relates his desires — to gamble, to win, to regain love's affection."

The song is featured in the E.L. Doctorow book The March. A soldier suffering from a metal spike stuck in his head sings verses from the song.

Performers

Notable artists who have recorded The Cuckoo include:

Artist	Album
Dave Alvin	Best of the Hightone Years
Clarence Ashley	Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 1-3
Joan Baez	Live At Newport
The Be Good Tanyas	Blue Horse
Big Brother and the Holding Company	Big Brother and the Holding Company
Anne Briggs	Anne Briggs'
Buck 65	Porch
Shirley Collins	Sweet England
Eric Darling	True Religion
Alfred Deller	The Art of Alfred Deller: The Counter-Tenor Legacy
Donovan	Beat Cafe
Dry Branch Fire Squad	Hand Hewn
Bob Dylan	Live at the Gaslight 1962
Rory Gallagher	Wheels Within Wheels
Tim Eriksen and Riley Baugus	Cold Mountain (soundtrack)
The Everly Brothers	Heartaches and Harmonies
Kelly Harrell	Worried Blues (JSP7743)
Kristin Hersh	Hips and Makers
Ramblin' Jack Elliott	Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Hem	Rabbit Songs
Holy Modal Rounders	Holy Modal Rounders 1 and 2
Hamish Imlach	Best of the Transatlantic Years
Kaleidoscope	Incredible!
The New Lost City Ramblers	Vol. 4
Osborne Brothers	Voices In Bluegrass
Pentangle	Basket of Light
Peter, Paul and Mary	A Song Will Rise
The Pine Hill Haints	Ghost Dance
Jean Ritchie	Singing the Traditional Songs of Her Kentucky Mountain Family
Tom Rush	Tom Rush (Electra)
Martin Simpson	Righteousness and Humidity
Hobart Smith	In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes
Taj Mahal	The Natch'l Blues
Richard Thompson	The Harry Smith Project Live Vol. 1
Artie Traum	″Thief Of Time″
Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley	Original Folkways Recordings: 1960–1962
Townes Van Zandt	Roadsongs
Laura Veirs	Two Beers Veirs

External links

• Covers at WhoSampled