<P> "One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies . According to an old superstition, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck . It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20096 . </P> <P> There is considerable variation in the lyrics used . A common modern version follows: </P> <P> 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 . Eight for a wish, Nine for a kiss, Ten for a bird, You must not miss . </P> <P> The rhyme has its origins in superstitions connected with magpies, considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in Britain, at least as far back as the early sixteenth century . The rhyme was first recorded around 1780 in a note in John Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities on Lincolnshire with the lyric: </P>

One for sorrow two for joy girl on the train