Recordings & Info 289. The Mermaid
[As pointed out by Bruce Olsen the earliest known version of the Mermaid, "The Praise of Sailors" c. 1605-1632 (see immediately below), was missed by Child. Here are Olsen's notes and the text:
From Olsen's site: John Wright started publishing in 1605, adding his street address to his imprint in 1632, so this is no later. Child, "The Mermaid", #289, completely neglected the 17th century version, but it is obviously the original form of the song.
Later, c 1640, Martin Parker reworked it as "Saylors for my money", (ZN728) and added a chorus line "How ere the wind doth blow". Later yet, about 1660, J. P. (probably John Phillips), again reworked it as "Neptune's Raging Fury", revising the first line to "You gentlemen of England", and chorus to "When the stormy winds do blow (ZN3028). The tune of this latter is "When the stormy winds do blow", B512 among the broadside ballad tunes) J. P.'s version was reprinted fairly often until the late 18th century, when it was again lightly reworked as "Ye Gentlemen of England".
However, Parker's version and J. P.'s version leave out the mermaid, the sailors skipping to the top, and the landsmen lying down below, so they are not in the line of descent of "The Mermaid".
The praise of Sailors, heere set forth, with their hard
fortunes which doe befall them on the Seas, when
Land-men sleepe safe in their Beds
To a pleasant new tune.
As I lay musing in my bed,
full warm, a well at ease,
I thought upon the lodging hard
poore sailors have at Seas.
They bide it out with hunger and cold,
and many a bitter blast,
And many a time constrain'd they are
for to cut down their Mast.
Their victuals and their Ordinance,
and ought else that they haue,
They throw it overboard with speed,
and seeke their liues to saue.
When as the raging Seas doe fome,
and loftie winds do blow,
The Saylors they goe to the top,
when Land-men stay below.
Our Masters Mate takes Helme in hand,
his Course he steeres full well,
When as the loftie winds do blow,
and raging Seas doe swell.
The Master to his Compass goes.
so well he plies his charge:
He sends a Youth to the Top amaine,
for to vnsling the Yeards.
The Boatson he's under the Deck,
a man of courage bold;
To th'top toth'top, my liuely Lads,
hold fast my hearts of gold.
The Pilot he stands on the Claine,
with Line and Lead to sound,
To see how farre and neare they are
from any dangerous ground.
It is a testamonial good,
we are not far from land,
There sits a Mermaid on the Rocke,
with Combe and Glasse in hand.
Our captain he is on the Poope,
a man of might and power,
And lookes when raging seas doe gape
our bodies to devour.
Our royall Ship is runne to racke,
that was so stout and trim,
And some are put unto their Witts,
either to sinke or swim.
Our Ship that was before so good,
and eke likewise so trim,
Is now with raging Seas grown leakt,
and water fast comes in.
The Quarter master is a man,
so well his charge plies he,
He calls them to the Pumpe amaine,
to keepe their leake-ship free.
And many dangers likewise they
doe many times endure,
When as they met their enemies,
that come with might and power:
And seeke likewise from them to take
their lives and eke their goods:
Thus Saylors they sometimes endure,
upon the surging floods.
But when as they doe come to Land,
and homewards safe returne,
They are most kinde good fellowes all,
and scorne ever to mourne.
And likewise they will call for Wine,
and score it on the post:
For Sailors they are honest men,
and will pay well their Hoast.
For Saylors they be honest men,
and they doe take great paines,
When landed men and rufling lads.
doe rob them of their gaines.
Out Saylors they worke night and day,
their manhood for to try,
When landed men and ruffling Jacks,
doe in their Cabines lye.
Therefore let all good minded men,
give eare unto my Song,
And say also as well as I,
Saylors deserve no wrong.
This have I done for Saylors sakes,
in token of goodwill:
If ever I can doe them good,
I will be ready still.
God blesse them eke by Sea and land,
and also other men;
And as my Song beginning had,
so must it have and end.
FINIS
Printed for I. Wright.[1605-32]
In the US the ballad was published as a broadside in the mid-1800s and was even adapted as minstrel song ("Lowlands"- 1868). It was recorded by early country music artists Ernest Stoneman (The Raging Sea, How it Roars") and the Carter Family ("The Wave on the Sea"). Bascom Lamar Lunsford learned a version when he was just fifteen (Listen: "The Mermaid Song").]
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Child Collection Index
4) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
5) Folk Index
6) Notes from Penguin:
7) Post on Mudcat
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 124: The Mermaid (215 Listings)
Alternate Titles
The Mermaid Song
The Raging Sea, How It Roars
The Sinking Ship
Oh, the Lamp Burns Dimly Down Below
The Wrecked Ship
As I Sailed Out One Friday Night
Our Gallant Ship
The Royal George
The Shipwrecked Sailors
The Stormy Winds
The Stormy Winds How They Blow (Do Blow)
The Three Sailor Boys
The Wreck
Traditional Ballad Index: Mermaid, The [Child 289]
DESCRIPTION: A group of sailors see a mermaid (meaning that they can expect a shipwreck). Various crew members lament the families they are leaving behind. The ship sinks.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765?
KEYWORDS: mermaid/man ship sea wreck
FOUND IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,NE,NW,Ro,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar) Ireland
REFERENCES (26 citations):
Child 289, "The Mermaid" (6 texts)
Bronson 289, "The Mermaid" (42 versions)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 363-368, "The Mermaid" (3 texts plus a fragment and a version from the Forget-me-not Songster, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25}
Belden, pp. 101-102, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Randolph 39, "The Wrecked Ship" (3 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #42, #40}
Davis-Ballads 48, "The Mermaid" (8 texts plus 4 fragments, the last of which may not be this song; 2 tunes entitled "The Stormy Winds," "The Mermaid"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #22, #12}
Davis-More 44, pp. 344-349, "The Mermaid" (3 texts, 1 tune)
BrownII 48, "The Mermaid" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 23, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Hudson 26, p. 127, "The Mermaid" (1 short text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 106-107, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #31}
Thomas-Makin', pp. 34-35, (no title) (1 fragment)
Leach, pp. 673-674, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 404, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 62, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 70-71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 98-99, "Waves on the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 562-563, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 71-73, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 11, pp. 26-27, "Three Sailor Boys" (1 text)
JHCox 33, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 333-334, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 93, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2143, "On a Friday morning we set sail"
DT 289, MERMDFRI* MERMAID3* WAVESSEA* MERMAID5*
Roud #124
RECORDINGS:
Emma Dusenberry, "The Mermaid" (AFS, 1936; on LC58) {Bronson's #40}
William Howell, "The Mermaid" (on FSBBAL2)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "The Mermaid Song" (on BLLunsford01) {cf. Bronson's #32}
New Lost City Ramblers, "Raging Sea" (on NLCR02)
Ernest Stoneman & the Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, "The Raging Sea, How It Roars" (Victor Vi 21648, 1928) {Bronson's #20}
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Sinking Ship
Oh, the Lamp Burns Dimly Down Below
Child Collection-Child Ballad 289: Mermaid
Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year --Length --Have
289 Allen V. Teal Mermaid The Helen Creighton Collection No
289 Almeda Riddle The Merrymac at Sea Ballads and Hymns from the Ozarks 1972 No
289 Almeda Riddle The Merrimack The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection - Ozark Folksongs 3:57 Yes
289 Almeda Riddle The Merrymac at Sea The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection 4:23 Yes
289 Anúna The Mermaid Omnis 1996 2:56 Yes
289 Anne Price The Mermaid Home Again 2012 No
289 Barry Dransfield Mermaid Wings of the Sphinx 1996 3:16 Yes
289 Bascom Lamar Lunsford The Mermaid Song Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina 1996 3:20 Yes
289 Beda Folk The Mermaid Beda Folk Life 1973 2:56 Yes
289 Bell Duncan The Mermaid The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
289 Big Medicine The Waves on the Sea Pine to Pine 2009 No
289 Bill Thatcher The Mermaid The Edith Fowke Collection No
289 Billy Clark & John Hodson The Mermaid Steve Gardham Collection 1970-1982 3:06 Yes
289 Black Irish Band The Mermaid The Long Way to Tipperary 2005 No
289 Black Jimmie Mason The Mermaid The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
289 Blackthorn The Mermaid + Randers Hopsa Sweet Forget-Me-Not 2008 4:48 Yes
289 Bob Hart The Mermaid A Broadside 2003 No
289 Bob Lusk The Mermaid Slainte from Ulster County, NY - Irish-American Songs - Reissue 1994 No
289 Bounding Main The Mermaid Maiden Voyage 2004 4:32 Yes
289 Brian Peters Sailor's Song Songs of Trial and Triumph 2008 3:13 Yes
289 Brier The Mermaid 101 Irish Ballads 1998 2:05 Yes
289 Brobdingnagian Bards The Mermaid <website> - 3:12 Yes
289 Brobdingnagian Bards The Mermaid Song A Faire to Remember 2001 3:22 Yes
289 Brobdingnagian Bards The Mermaid Song Coventina's Well - Celtic MP3 Music Magazine Compilation CD 2003 3:24 Yes
289 Bruno's Boys The Mermaid Last Call 2006 3:30 Yes
289 Celtic Pirates Mermaid Tis Here I Wait for You 2002 5:46 Yes
289 Claymore Mermaid Every Bottle Dry 2007 No
289 Dame Darcy Mermaid Sea Shanty Shore 2011 No
289 Dan Howells Mermaid The Helen Hartness Flanders Collection No
289 Dan Tate The Sailor's Song Far in the Mountains, Vol. 1 & 2 - Songs, Tunes and Stories from Mike Yates' Appalachian Collections 1979-1983 2002 1:40 Yes
289 Dan Zanes & Festival Five Folk The Mermaid Sea Music 2004 4:20 Yes
289 Danny Quinn & Band The Mermaid Gifts from a Bard 1993 3:52 Yes
289 Dave Rowe Trio The Mermaid Three's a Charm 2007 4:36 Yes
289 Dave Williams The Mermaid You're on Nipper! 2002 No
289 David Jones & Bill Shute The Mermaid Widdecombe Fair 2003 3:32 Yes
289 Dreagn Foltz The Mermaid New to Old Folk 2006 No
289 Earl B. Smith Mermaid The Helen Creighton Collection No
289 Edith Cummings Taylor The Mermaid (1) Ben Gray Lumpkin Digital Folk Music Collection 1950-1970 4:49 Yes
289 Edith Cummings Taylor The Mermaid (2) Ben Gray Lumpkin Digital Folk Music Collection 1950-1970 5:08 Yes
289 Ernest V. Stoneman & the Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers The Ragging Sea, How It Roars (The Mermaid) Virginia Traditions - Ballads from British Tradition 1993 3:23 Yes
289 Evans & Doherty The Mermaid Road Not Taken 1991 2:56 Yes
289 Ewan MacColl The Mermaid Ye Mariners All - More Shanties and Forebitters 1971 2:39 Yes
289 Fiddler's Green The Mermaid Stagebox 1999 2:55 Yes
289 Fiddler's Green The Mermaid King Shephard 1995 2:47 Yes
289 Finest Kind The Mermaid Heart's Delight 1999 3:17 Yes
289 Frank Gardham The Mermaid Steve Gardham Collection 1970-1982 2:25 Yes
289 Fred 'Pip' Whiting The Ship I Love Keith Summers Collection 1970-1977 2:24 Yes
289 Gibb 'Ranzo' Schreffler [Hulton Clint] The Mermaid <website> 2008- 4:40 Yes
289 Ginny Hawker & Kay Justice Waves on the Sea Bristol - A Tribute to the Music of the Carter Family 1999 3:17 Yes
289 Golden Bough The Mermaid's Song + Song of the Seals Song of the Celts 2001 No
289 Golden Bough The Mermaid The Jug of Punch - Popular Irish Pub Songs 2008 No
289 Gordon Tyrrall The Mermaid So I've Heard 2000 2:41 Yes
289 Hardtack & Harmony The Mermaid Always Remember These Days 2005 4:20 Yes
289 Harry Adams The Mermaid John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
289 Harry Tuft The Mermaid Across the Blue Mountains 1976 4:08 Yes
289 Heritage String Band The Mermaid Campfire Songs and Letters .. from Long, Long Ago 2004 4:09 Yes
289 Hermes Nye The Mermaid Anglo-American Ballads 1952 2:42 Yes
289 Hot Irish Sausage The Mermaid Knowne World Tour 2000 4:03 Yes
289 Irish Stout The Mermaid A Collection of Irish Pub Songs 2006 4:32 Yes
289 Isla St. Clair The Mermaid Tatties & Herrin' - The Sea 1995 2:48 Yes
289 Jamie O'Reilly & the Rogues Blow Ye Winds + Mermaid Jamie O'Reilly & the Rogues: A Collection of Rogues' Recordings 2005 No
289 Jeanette Walker The Mermaid The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
289 Jeannie Robertson Three Wee Glasgow Molls + Three Times 'Round Went Oor Gallant Ship + I Ken Whaur I'm Gaun + What's Poor Mary Weeping For Scottish Ballads and Folk Songs - The World's Greatest Folksinger 1960 2:37 Yes
289 Jerry Ernst The Mermaid Angel Band 2000 4:19 Yes
289 Jim Brannigan The Mermaid Song The Singing Bird 1997 No
289 Joan Hall The Mermaid Wine Country Harpist 2006 2:31 Yes
289 Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin The Mermaid Return 2010 No
289 John Byrne The Mermaid The Abbey Tavern, Howth, Dublin: Traditional Ballads 1970 No
289 Johnny Doughty The Mermaid Round Rye Bay for More - Traditional Songs from the Sussex Coast 1977 3:01 Yes
289 Johnny Doughty The Mermaid Bob Davenport Archive 1979 4:28 Yes
289 Leahys Luck The Mermaid 2nd Time Around 1996 3:47 Yes
289 Leza Mesiah The Mermaid More of the Moor of Dundee 2008 No
289 Leza Mesiah The Mermaid (Repeat) More of the Moor of Dundee 2008 No
289 Mac P'sens The Mermaid Før Det Er for Sent 1999 3:47 Yes
289 MacIsaac & Ross The Mermaid Silken Threads 1995 4:24 Yes
289 Maggie's Fury Mermaid .. And the Waves Roll On 2006 3:29 Yes
289 Marc Gunn The Mermaid Song Going for Brogue - Irish Pub Songs and Sea Shanties with an Accent 2008 No
289 Mark Alan Lovewell The Mermaid Sea Songs of Martha's Vineyard 2004 No
289 Mark T. The Mermaid The Garden of Love 1992 No
289 Mark Thornton The Mermaid Song Titanic: Epic Songs of the Sea 1998 No
289 Martin & Jessica Ruby Simpson The Mermaid Red Roses 1995 3:57 Yes
289 Martin Carthy The Mermaid Rogues Gallery - Live at the Barbican, London 2008 2008 3:10 Yes
289 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Mermaid Straws in the Wind 2006 3:37 Yes
289 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Mermaid Essential 2011 4:12 Yes
289 Martin Carthy & The UK Group The Mermaid Rogue's Gallery - Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys 2006 2:24 Yes
289 Mary Humphreys & Anahata The Mermaid + Marmelade Polka Sharp Practice - Rarities and Renovations from the English Tradition 2003 4:23 Yes
289 Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl The Mermaid The Early Years [Marblehead Morning + Nevertheless] 1992 4:07 Yes
289 Mat Williams The Mermaid Full English - A Collection of Traditional British Folk Songs 2012 No
289 Men of Worth The Mermaid Live in Folsom 1997 5:21 Yes
289 Michael Cooney The Mermaid Still Cooney After All These Years 1979 4:23 Yes
289 Michael Cooney The Mermaid Singer of Old Songs + Still Cooney After All These Years: A Compilation 2001 4:43 Yes
289 Middle Tickle The Mermaid Breaking Water 2000 No
289 Molly Maguire The Mermaid One for the Ditch.. 1997 4:41 Yes
289 Mrs. Allie Long Parker Mermaid The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection :11 Yes
289 Mrs. Ellen M. Sullivan Mermaid The Helen Hartness Flanders Collection No
289 Mrs. Emma Dusenbury The Mermaid Child Ballads Traditional in the United States, Vol. II 1960 2:05 Yes
289 Muckle Ado The Mermaid Skye's the Limit 2004 No
289 New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus & The Rum Soaked Crooks The Mermaid Lovely Ernestina - Songs of the Sea 2004 3:12 Yes
289 New Model Army The Mermaid Song Thunder & Consolation 2005 1:24 Yes
289 Norman & Nancy Blake The Mermaid Back Home in Sulphur Springs 2005 5:25 Yes
289 Norman Hall All Jolly Fellows That Follow the Plough + John Peel + Tom Bowling + The Mermaid Bob & Jacqueline Patten Collection 1970-1999 No
289 Norman Hall The Mermaid John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
289 North Sea Gas Folk Trio The Mermaid Those So Dearly Held 1981 3:19 Yes
289 Oscar Brand The Ocean Waves May Roll Rollicking Sea Shanties 1954 2:33 Yes
289 Paul & Liz Davenport The Mermaid Songbooks 2008 No
289 Paul Clayton The Mermaid Whaling and Sailing Songs 1997 2:58 Yes
289 Pay the Dog The Mermaid Ice Cream for Abbie 2000 No
289 Peggy Seeger The Mermaid Folksongs and Ballads 1958 No
289 Peggy Seeger The Mermaid Peggy Alone 1967 3:27 Yes
289 Peggy Seeger The Mermaid Poetry and Song, Vol. 3 1967 No
289 Pete Coe Mermaid In Paper Houses 2004 4:12 Yes
289 Peter O'Dea The Mermaid <website> - 4:05 Yes
289 Phillip Hole The Mermaid The Singing Gravedigger 2004 No
289 Pierce Campbell The Mermaid Songs of the Drink, Songs of the Sea 2000 3:49 Yes
289 Poítín The Mermaid Winter Brew 2004 3:26 Yes
289 Raymond Crooke The Mermaid <website> 2007 3:42 Yes
289 Richard Dyer-Bennet The Mermaid Richard Dyer-Bennet Vol. 12 1964 No
289 Richard Grainger The Mermaid Thunderwood 1994 No
289 Rickey Lashley The Mermaid American Celt 2002 2:32 Yes
289 Robert Birch & Brenda Orrell The Mermaid Steve Gardham Collection 1970-1982 :28 Yes
289 Rod Walsh The Mermaid Close to Home 2007 3:38 Yes
289 Rosaleen Dhu The Mermaid Here There Be Dragons 2006 No
289 Ruth Barrett The Mermaid Songs of the Otherworld 2010 No
289 Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith The Mermaid Aeolus 1981 3:26 Yes
289 Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith The Mermaid The Early Years 2007 3:23 Yes
289 Schooner Fare The Mermaid Roots and Wings 2010 No
289 Scuttlebutt Leave Her, Johnny + The Mermaid + The Barren Rocks of Aden Instrumental Music of Tall Ships 2000 No
289 Shamrocks in the Wind The Mermaid In the Irish Mist - Sea Songs 2001 3:23 Yes
289 Sheamus Fitzpatrick & The McNally Boys The Mermaid Liverdance 2004 3:18 Yes
289 Skip Henderson The Mermaid Billy Bones and Other Ditties 2003 3:11 Yes
289 Skyedance The Mermaid's Song Galway Shawl No
289 Sligo Rags The Mermaid The Night Before the Morning After 2005 4:26 Yes
289 Smithfield Fair The Mermaid’s Song Highland Call 2002 No
289 Southwind The Mermaid Looking Back 2005 3:27 Yes
289 Stanley Robertson Three Times Around Rum Scum Scoosh! - Songs and Stories of an Aberdeen Childhood 2005 No
289 Stanton Family Singers The Mermaid 'S Great to Be Irish! - Live in 2004 2005 3:36 Yes
289 Stuart Bougen, Heather Mitchell, Geoff Anders, Bill Baritompa, Andy Hills, George Stewart & Russell Thomas The Mermaid Sea Shanties-Chants De Marins - Vol. 2 1995 2:51 Yes
289 Tarneybackle The Mermaid + Trumpet Hornpipe Distant Dreams 2003 6:09 Yes
289 The 97th Regimental String Band The Mermaid Saturday Night at Sea - Seafaring Songs of the Sailing Days 1990 No
289 The Abbey Tavern Singers The Mermaid The Abbey Tavern, Howth, Dublin - Traditional Ballads 1970 3:09 Yes
289 The Black Velvet Band The Mermaid The Black Velvet Band 2000 3:29 Yes
289 The Blue Water Folk The Mermaid All the Good Times [Blue Water Folk] 1972 3:24 Yes
289 The Carter Family The Wave on the Sea In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain 2000 2:38 Yes
289 The Carter Family The Wave on the Sea The Carter Family, Vol. 2: 1935-1941 2002 2:42 Yes
289 The Chad Mitchell Trio Waves on the Sea The Best of the Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years 1998 2:28 Yes
289 The City Waites The Mermaid The English Tradition - 400 Years of Music & Song from Medieval Times to Queen Victoria 2000 4:06 Yes
289 The City Waites The Mermaid Ghosts, Witches & Demons - from the Castle to the Graveyard 1995 No
289 The Clancy Brothers The Mermaid Greatest Hits 1973 2:49 Yes
289 The Clancy Brothers & Lou Killen The Mermaid Best of the Vanguard Years 2000 2:49 Yes
289 The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem The Mermaid The First Hurrah! 1964 3:16 Yes
289 The Cogan Brothers The Mermaid Extend Us the Courtesy 2003 No
289 The Corsairs The Mermaid The Corsairs [The Black One] 1998 4:52 Yes
289 The Crimson Pirates Mermaid The Crimson Pirates 2001 No
289 The Dustbunnies The Mermaid What Goes Around 2011 No
289 The Dustmen The Mermaid Rants, Reels and Other Songs 2005 No
289 The Fenians Tardu's Reel + Waltham's + the Mermaid Band of Rogues 2002 4:26 Yes
289 The Golden Eagle String Band Mermaid Body, Boots and Britches - Folk Songs of New York State 1982 4:14 Yes
289 The Highway Sound The Mermaid What Henry Ford Forgot 2006 3:33 Yes
289 The Johnson Mountain Boys The Waves on the Sea Working Close 1983 4:04 Yes
289 The Johnson Mountain Boys The Waves on the Sea Rounder Folk 2 1985 3:53 Yes
289 The Johnson Mountain Boys The Waves on the Sea Favorites 1987 No
289 The Jolly Rogues Mermaid The Road to Boston 2003 3:58 Yes
289 The Lilly Bros. & Don Stover The Waves on the Sea Folk Songs from Southern Mountains [Bluegrass at the Roots] 1961 2:47 Yes
289 The Magickal Folk of the Faraway Tree The Mermaid The Cat's Melodeon 2005 1:59 Yes
289 The Magickal Folk of the Faraway Tree The Mermaid The Soup & The Shilling 2010 1:56 Yes
289 The Malarkey Brothers The Mermaid Get Your Irish Up! 1999 2:51 Yes
289 The Mill City Grinders Waves on the Sea No Corn in the Crib 2006 2:23 Yes
289 The New Lost City Ramblers Raging Sea The New Lost City Ramblers Vol. II 1959 3:20 Yes
289 The New Lost City Ramblers [The New Lost City Bang Boys] The Waves on the Sea Earth Is Earth 1978 2:21 Yes
289 The New Lost City Ramblers The Waves on the Sea The New Lost City Ramblers 1961 2:20 Yes
289 The New St. George The Mermaid High Tea 1994 3:57 Yes
289 The Paul McKenna Band The Mermaid Stem the Tide 2011 4:05 Yes
289 The Ploughboys The Mermaid About Time .. 2004 4:08 Yes
289 The Revels The Mermaid Blow, Ye Winds in the Morning - A Celebration of the Sea, Traditional Sea Songs, Dances and Chantays 1994 2:08 Yes
289 The Spinners The Mermaid Folk at the Phil! 1964 3:24 Yes
289 The Stationary Willberries The Mermaid <website> - 3:12 Yes
289 The Stone Soup Band The Mermaid Free Night in Dublin 2003 4:36 Yes
289 The Tannahill Weavers The Mermaid's Song + The Herra Boys + Captain Horn + The Fourth Floor The Mermaid's Song 1992 6:27 Yes
289 The Town Pants The Mermaid Liverdance 1997 3:04 Yes
289 The Whiskey Bards Mermaid The Recruiter - Free Rum Ain't Free 2005 5:11 Yes
289 The X-Seamen's Institute The Mermaid Favorite Sea Songs - Songs from the Age of Sail 1981 No
289 The Yetties The Mermaid All at Sea 1973 2:52 Yes
289 Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy The Mermaid The Makem & Clancy Concert 1990 3:02 Yes
289 Tracy Smith The Mermaid Song Taverns and Tall Ships - Songs of the American Colonial 2008 No
289 Vooks The Mermaid When the Fish They Fly .. 2007 No
289 Waldorf String Band The Mermaid Singalong Too! - 21st Anniversary 'Live' at the Victory Theatre 2008 No
289 Walter Pardon The Mermaid Reg Hall Archive 1953-1977 5:26 Yes
289 Whisky Before Breakfast The Mermaid A Drop of the Craythur 2006 3:48 Yes
289 William Howell Our Gallant Ship The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 6: Sailormen and Servingmaids 1961 1:43 Yes
289 William Howell Stormy Winds Do Blow BBC Recordings No
289 William Howell The Mermaid Classic Ballads of Britain & Ireland - Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Vol 2 2000 2:37 Yes
289 William Howell The Mermaid The Green Wedding - The Classic Ballads 3 1976 No
289 Willy Jorgensen The MerMaid <website> 1972 2:46 Yes
289 Wylde Nept The Mermaid Song A Drop of the Creature 2000 No
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
289. THE MERMAID
Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 363 / Belden, Mo F-S, 101 / Botkin, Am Play-Party Sg, 56 / Botkin, Treasry NE F-L, 872 / Brown Coll / Chappell, F-S Rnke Alb, 47 / Cox, F-S South, 192 / Davis, Tr d Bid Va, 521 / DeMarsan Broadside List 14, 4 56 / Deming Broadside (Boston, c. 1838) / Focus, III, 447; IV, 97 / Forget-me-not Songster (Locke, Boston, c. 1842) I Forget-me-not Songster (Nafis and Cornish, N.Y.), 79 / Forget-me-not Songster (Sadlier, N.Y.), 46 / Forecastle Songster (Nafis and Cornish, N.Y., 1849), 112 / Haun, Cocke Cnty, 112 / Heart Songs, 360 / Henry, F-S So Hgblds, 133 / Hudson, F-S Miss, 127 / Hudson, Spec Miss F-L, #23 / JAFL, XVIII, 136; XXV, 176; XXVI, 175 / Lomax and Lomax, Our Sgng Cntry, 151 / Luce's Naval Songs, 1 902, 1 1 8 / MacKenzie, Bids Sea Sgs N Sc, 65 / McGill, F-S Ky Mts, 46 / Morris, F-S Fla, 479 / Musick, F-L Kirksville, 12 / NTFLQ, IV, 179 / Pearl Songster (Huestis, N.Y., 1846), 155 / Pound, Am Bids Sgs, 26 / Pound, Nebr Syllabus, 10 / PTFLS, X, 162 / Randolph, OzF-S, I, 202 / Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 189 / SharpK, EngF-S So Aplchns, I, 291 / Shoemaker, No Pa Mnstly (1919), 157 / Singer's Journal, I, 301 / Spaeth, Read 'em and Weep, 81 / Stout, F-L la, 14 / Thompson, Bdy Bts Brtcbs, 216 / Uncle Sam's Naval and Patriotic Songster (Cozzens, N. Y.), 40 / Pa FLS Bull #s 2 5, 8 10 / Alfred Williams, Street Bids and Sgs (pre- 1895).
Local Titles: As I Sailed Out One Friday Night, Our Gallant Ship, The Mermaid, The Royal George, The Shipwrecked Sailors, The Sinking Ship, The Stormy Winds, The Stormy Winds How They Blow (Do Blow), The Three Sailor Boys, The Wreck.
Story Types: A: A ship sets sail on a Friday, a day of ill-omen. It sights a mermaid at sea, a fact which bodes ill-weather. The men on board all resign themselves that the ship will go down. It does.
Examples: Barry (A), Belden, Davis (A).
B: The story Is the same as that of Type A. However, the captain "plumbs" the sea fore and aft and realizes the boat will sink and that all the men on board will be in Heaven or Hell "this night". The other crew members do not appear. Examples: Lomax and Lomax.
Discussion: The Type A American texts of this song follow the Child B-D series rather closely, although the first stanza of the JAFL, XXVI, 175 fragmentary song allies it with Child A. A man lies in bed thinking of the hard life of the sailors. This version does not mention the mermaid, however, although she may have appeared in one of the forgotten stanzas. The Type B version has no parallel in Child and probably has resulted from gradual degeneration through transmission, or from print.
The ballad has been included in many published works both in Britain (see Cox, F-S South, 172) and in America. Cox, op. cit. 9 and MacKenzie, Bids Sea Sgs N Sc, 65 give lists of college songbook texts. Some references of this sort are The American College Songster (Ann Arbor, 1876), 56; Noble's Songs of Harvard (cop. 1913), 82; W. H. Hill's Student's Songs, 27; and
Wake's Student Life in Song (Boston, cop. 1879), 47. It has been parodied frequently. See Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 190; The Slam-Bang Songster (cop. 1870), 8; and The We Won't Go Home Until Morning Songster (cop. 1869), 8. For its use as a children's game see Gomme, Traditional Games, pp 143, 422; For its use as a play-party game see Botkin, Am Play-Party Sg y 56. For other published texts, which have had a large influence on the form of this song, see the broadside and songster references included in the bibliography above.
American texts usually have a "stormy winds" chorus which will vary in position and use in the different versions and variants.
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Folk Index: The Mermaid [Ch 289/Sh 42/Me I-A17]
Rt - Waves on the Sea ; Three Times 'Round Went Oor Gallant Ship
At - Three Sailor Boys ; Then Turn Out You Jolly Tars
Riddle, Almeda. Abrahams, Roger D.(ed.) / A Singer and Her Songs. Almeda Riddle's Book o, Louisiana State U. Press, Bk (1970), p 83 [1964-67]
Spaeth, Sigmund / Read 'Em and Weep, Arco, Sof (1959/1926), p 71
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p404 [1800s?]
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p406 [1898]
Lynn, Frank (ed.) / Songs for Swingin' Housemothers, Fearon, Sof (1963/1961), p281
Best, Dick & Beth (eds.) / New Song Fest Deluxe, Hansen, Sof (1971/1948), p128
Chapple, Joseph Mitchell / Heart Songs, Chappell, Bk (1909), p360
Sing Together. A Girl Scout Songbook, Girl Scouts, Sof (1957/1949), p 78
Kennedy, Charles O'Brien (ed.) / American Ballads - Naughty, Ribald and, Premier Book, sof (1956/1952), p235 (Stormy Winds Do Blow)
Palmer, Roy (ed.) / Oxford Book of Sea Songs, Oxford, Bk (1986), p115/# 50 (Seaman's Distress)
Lorenz, Ellen J.(ed.) / Men's Get-Together Songs, Lorenz, fol (1938), P 34/# 48
Silverman, Jerry / How to Play Guitar, Doubleday, Sof (1968), p113
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p673 [1700s]
Adkins, Maggie. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p328/#175 [1934-39]
Barlow, Bill (Razor Bill). Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p328/N 62B [1933/11]
Boone, Sina. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p293/# 42C [1918/09/28]
Byrne, John. Abbey Tavern. Traditional Ballads, Abbey Tavern ATP 102, LP (1970), trk# A.01
Carthy, Martin; Group. Rogues Gallery, Anti 86817-2, CD (2006), trk# 1.18
Carthy, Martin; and Dave Swarbrick. Straws in the Wind, Topic TSCD 556, CD (2006), trk# 12
Clayton, Paul. Whaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick, Tradition TLP 1005, LP (196?), trk# A.09 [1956/06]
Cooney, Michael. Still Cooney After All These Years, Front Hall FHR 016, LP (1979), trk# A.04
Crawley, Luke and Brent. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p325/N 62A [1942/12/05]
Douglas Family. Thompson, Harold W.(ed.) / Body, Boots & Britches, Dover, Bk (1962/1939), p216 [1930s] (Murmaid)
Dusenberry, Emma L.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p203/# 39B [1938ca] (As I Sailed Out One Fri
Edwards, George. Cazden, Norman, et.al. / Folk Songs of the Catskills, SUNY Press, sof (1982), p264/# 71 [1940s]
Fulmiller, Lulu. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p293/# 42D [1918/06/02]
Gear, Jeanetta. Pound, Louise (ed.) / American Ballads and Songs, Scribner, Sof (1972/1922), p 26/# 11 [1914] (Three Sailor Boys)
Gunter, Mrs. Lou. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p136/# 57 [1930s] (Ship A-Raging)
Herridge, James. Williams, R. Vaughan; & A. L. Lloyd (eds.) / Penguin Book of English Fol, Penguin, Sof (1959), P 69 [1906]
Howell, William. Folk Songs of Britain. Vol 6. Sailormen and Servingmaids, Caedmon TC 1162, LP (1962), trk# 4 [1953/08] (Our Gallant Ship)
Jones, Sallie D.. Cox, John Harrington (ed.) / Folk-Songs of the South, Dover, Sof (1967/1925), p172/# 33 [1916/09/23] (Sinking Ship)
Lovingood, Charity. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p189 [1930ca]
Lunsford, Bascom Lamar. Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40082, CD (Smi1), trk# 2 [1949/03/25] (Mermaid Song)
McDaniels, Sam. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p202/# 39A [1924/06/07] (Wrecked Ship)
Melton, Leona. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p291/# 42A [1917/10/02]
Men of Worth. Live in Folsom, Mahog MMCD 205, CD (1997), trk# 3
Neskowin Valley School Singers. You Don't Knock, Neskowin Valley School NVS-1, LP (198?), trk# 5 (Ocean Waves)
Pace, Eliza. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p292/# 42B [1917/10/03]
Pace, Eliza. Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / Our Singing Country, Dover, Sof (2000/1941), p151 [1937]
Riddle, Almeda. Ballads and Hymns from the Ozarks, Rounder 0017, LP (1972), trk# 5 (Merrimac at Sea)
Seeger, Peggy. Folksongs and Ballads, Riverside RLP 12-655, LP (1959), trk# 4
Short, Mrs. Leonard. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p204/# 39C [1940/03/31] (Wrecked Ship)
Smith, William H.. Fowke, Edith (ed.) / Sea Songs and Ballads from 19th Century Nova Scotia, Folklorica, Sof (1981), p 38 [1940] (Then Turn Out You Jolly Tars)
Spinners. Folk at the Phil!, Fontana STL 5219, LP (1964), trk# B.02
Tuft, Harry. Across the Blue Mountains, Folk Legacy FSI 063, LP (1976), trk# 5
The Waves on the Sea [Ch 289/Sh 42/Me I-A17]
Rt - Mermaid
Carter Family. Last Recordings, Vol. 2. Featuring A. P. Carter, Old Homestead OHCS 331, Cas (1993), trk# B.04
Carter Family. Carter Family Album, Liberty LRP 3230, LP (1962), trk# A.05
Carter Family. Last Sessions... Victor Recordings, 1933-41, Rounder 1072, CD (1998), trk# 13 [1941/10/14]
Mitchell Trio. Typical American Boys, Mercury MG 20992, LP (196?), trk# B.01
New Lost City Ramblers. Cohen, John, Mike Seeger & Hally Wood / Old Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1976/1964), p 98
New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 2, Folkways FA 2397, LP (1960), trk# B.07 (Raging Sea)
Stanley, Ralph. Distant Land to Roam. Songs of the Carter Family, Columbia DMZ, CD (2005), trk# 12
Ward, Crockett and Perline. Round the Heart of Old Galax, Vol 2., County 534, LP (1980), trk# B.04 [1937/10/25] (Raging Sea)
Three Times 'Round Went Oor Gallant Ship [Ch 289]
Rt - Mermaid
Robertson, Jeannie. Scottish Ballads and Folk Songs, Prestige International INT 13006, LP (196?), trk# B.07b
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Notes from Penguin: The Mermaid (FSJ 1047)
The superstition that the sight of a mermaid is an omen of shipwreck is ancient and widespread, yet songs that treat of it are few. There is no sign that "The Mermaid" is older than the eighteenth century, but it has persisted many forms, in both England and Scotland, in oral tradition, on broasides, in song-books. It has been used as a sea-shanty, also as a students' song and a children's game ('The big ship sails up the Alley, Alley O'). Perhaps because of its familiarity in print, commentators and collectors have rather neglected this song, which, in good versions, has its fine points. The ballad is No. 289 in Child. It has been reported in recent years, from Oxfordshire (WUP 84), Hampshire (Gillington, Old Hampshire Singing Games), Cheshire (FSJ III 49), Dorset (FSJ III 50-1) Devovshire (FSJ III 139), and, in a common fragment, from Berkshire (FSJ V 227).
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Post on Mudcat from SteveF
"The Mermaid Song" was sung regularly when I attended Scout camp in New Jersey many years ago. Most of the scouts lived in log cabins in the woods, but one unit resided in a large residence built to resemble a ship along side the shore of our lake. Aboard SHIP, as it was unpretentiously named, the routine followed a quasi-nautical regimen.
We all sang "The Mermaid Song" in the mess hall. It was essentially the same version found in the database. We sang it at a brisk pace. When we came to the last verse, however, the guys from SHIP would all rise to their feet, place their caps over their hearts, and solo the last verse in very solemn fashion:
Then three times around went our gallant ship,
And three times around went she
Three times around went our gallant ship
Then she sank to the bottom of the sea,
Then all of us would do the last chorus, "O the ocean waves..." It was quite amusing to visitors.
--SteveF