The Mermaid
(Our Gallant Ship / The Ocean Waves May Roll / The Sailor's Caution / The Seamen's Distress / The Wrecked Ship / Waves on the Sea)
ChorusWhile the raging seas do roar, And the stormy winds do blow, And we jolly sailor boys were skipping up aloft, And the land lubbers lying down below, below, below, And the land lubbers lying down below.Then up spoke the Captain Of our gallant ship, And a fine old man was he. "I have married a wife in fair London town, But tonight she a widow will be, Will be, will be. But tonight she a widow will be." And then up spoke the little cabin boy, And a bright-eyed boy was he. "I've a father and mother in fair Plymouth town, And this night they will weep for me, For me, for me, And this night they will weep for me." Then three times 'round spun our gallant ship, And three times 'round spun she. And the third time 'round they all went down, As she sank to the bottom of the sea, The sea, the sea, As she sank to the bottom of the sea.
This song is quite old — some sources say mid 1600s or possibly older. It is known by many names. In most versions, the ship spins around three times and sinks, but other variants have it return home safely instead. Many ships have been called The Mermaid over the centuries, so it is impossible to connect the song to any particular vessel. A nice version exists in Songs of the Sea and Lays of the Land.
Rod Stradling wrote the liner notes for Bob Hart’s anthology:
Professor Child called this The Mermaid because, in most versions, the sailors sight a mermaid, a sign of bad-luck, before their ship is wrecked. It was published in a Newcastle Garland, dated 1765, as The Seamen’s Distress, although later broadside printers often called it The Sailor’s Caution. In America the song was often treated comically in 19th century college glee books and it may be that sometimes the American folk versions are serious reinterpretations of these one-time comic versions!
Oscar Brand preserves some of that joviality with his recording on Rollicking Sea Shanties.