56 - Mermaid
Words by TraditionalTune by Traditional
It was a Friday morn when we set sail
And we were not far from the land
When our captain, he spied a fishy mermaid
With a comb and a glass in her hand
Oh the ocean waves do roll
And the stormy winds do blow
And we poor sailors are skipping at the top
While the landlubbers lie down below, below, below
While the landlubbers lie down below
Now the song she sang, she sang so sweet,
No answer at all could I say
Till our gallant ship she swung round about
Which made our poor hearts to ache
Up spoke the captain of our gallant ship
And a brave old skipper was he
“This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom
We shall sink to the bottom of the sea”
Up spoke the first mate of our gallant ship
And a well-spoken man was he
“I have me a wife in Salem by the sea
And tonight she a widow will be”
Up spoke the cook of our gallant ship
And a greasy old butcher was he
“I care much more for my pots and my pans
Than I do for the bottom of the sea”
Then up spoke the cabin boy, of our gallant ship
And a nasty little lad was he
“I’m not quite sure I can spell mermaid
But I’m going to the bottom of the sea”
Then up stepped the helmsman of our ship
In his hand a lead and line
For to sound the seas so wide and so deep
No hard rock or sand could he find
Then three times around spun our gallant ship
And three times around spun she
Three times around spun our gallant ship
And she sank to the bottom of the sea