The Mermaid- (KY) pre1916 McGill
[No informant, specific place (state was Kentucky) or date supplied, with music. It was collected by Josephine McGill (1877-1919) in the Hindeman Settlement School region of Kentucky during the summers of 1914-1916 and published in her 1917 book, Folk-Songs of the Kentucky Mountains.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
THE MERMAID.
Last Friday morning as we set sail,
Not very far from land;
We all espied a fair mermaid,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
Chorus: The stormy winds do blow, blow
And the raging seas how they roar;
And us three sailors climbing to the top, [1]
And the land all a-lying down below. [2]
The first came up was the captain of the ship,
And a jolly looking fellow was he;
O I've this night in merry Eng-a-land,
A wife that is weeping for me."
Chorus:
The next came up was a pretty little boy,
And a pretty little fellow was he,
Saying, "I've this night in merry Eng-a-land,
A mother that's looking for me."
Chorus:
The next came up was the greasy old cook,
And a greasy old fellow was he:
Saying: "I care more for the kettle and the stove [3]
Than I do for the raging of the sea."
Chorus:
The gallant old ship, she turned herself around,
Yes three times over again;
The very last time she turned herself around,
She sank to the bottom of the sea.
Chorus:
1. usually poor sailors; three is found occasionally- see Pound's 1914 version
2. usually landsmen; landlubbers
3. usually pots instead of stove