The Mermaid- Ford (WI) 1937 Cowell REC
[From: Wisconsin Folksong Collection, 1937-1946 This is almost the same version (without the extended last line) as found in "Heart Songs," 1909, the popular volume distributed by "The National Magazine" of Boston. A recording is available on-line at the Wisconsin Folksong site.
R. Matteson 2014]
THE MERMAID- Sung by Art J. Ford; Crandon, Wisconsin; July, 1937; Collected by S. R. Cowell
It was Friday morning when we set sail
and we were not far from the land
when the Captain spied a fair mermaid
With a comb and a glass in her hand
Chorus:
O the ocean waves may roll,
And the stormy winds may blow,
While we poor sailors go skipping to the tops
and the landlubbers lie down below.
Well, up spoke the Captain of our gallant ship
And a well-spoken man was he,
I've married a wife in Salem town
And tonight she a widow will be.
Then up spoke the Cook of our gallant ship,
And a red-hot cook was he,
I care much more for my kettles and my pans
than I do for the depths of the sea.
Then three times round went our gallant ship
and three times round went she,
then three time round went our gallant ship
and she sank to the depths of the sea.
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X:289.30
T:The Mermaid
C:Sung by A. J. Ford - 1937
I:abc2nwc
M:4/4
L:1/8
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