The Mermaid (ballad)
Encyclopedia
The Mermaid is Child Ballad
#289. Dating to around the mid-18th century, this song is known by a number of names, including Waves on the Sea and The Wrecked Ship.
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
#289. Dating to around the mid-18th century, this song is known by a number of names, including Waves on the Sea and The Wrecked Ship.
Lyrics
- 'Twas Friday morn when we set sail,
- And we had not got far from land,
- When the Captain, he spied a lovely mermaid,
- With a comb and a glass in her hand.
- Chorus
- Oh the ocean waves may roll,
- And the stormy winds may blow,
- While we poor sailors go skipping aloft
- And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below
- And the land lubbers lay down below.
- Then up spoke the Captain of our gallant ship,
- And a jolly old Captain was he;
- "I have a wife in Salem town,
- But tonight a widow she will be."
- Chorus
- Then up spoke the Cook of our gallant ship,
- And a greasy old Cook was he;
- "I care more for my kettles and my pots,
- Than I do for the roaring of the sea."
- Chorus
- Then up spoke the Cabin-boy of our gallant ship,
- And a dirty little brat was he;
- "I have friends in Boston town
- That don't care a ha' penny for me."
- Chorus
- Then three times 'round went our gallant ship,
- And three times 'round went she,
- And the third time that she went 'round
- She sank to the bottom of the sea.
- Chorus
External links
- Quoted Text: The Mermaid
- Alternate Versions: The Mermaid