Hi maccca,

What you associate with a magpie would probably be better understood here with a reference to a raven or crow. From the poem by Edgar Allen Poe ("The Raven") to "The Crow" movies, it's clearly understood in the states that they are an omen of death, or a guide to the underworld, or both. For the sake of songwriting, "raven" and "magpie" have the same metric foot, so should be interchangeable. Visually, the three birds (magpie, raven, crow) are pretty much all the same -- large, black (or mostly black) birds. But, as I said, the raven or crow would be the reference Americans would understand.

In the states, we generally call magpies "mockingbirds", which is more associated with the childrens' song "Hush little baby, don't say a word / Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird / etc...", and so brings images of childhood, not ill omen.

Hope that helps.

Baz / Erik
www.eriktyler.com
www.soundclick.com/eriktyler

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"The only way to get anywhere is to cross a few lines."