Dated July 22, 2004. This is one of the plethora of songs named "The Mermaid." Of the other two that I know "off the cuff," as it were, this one falls somewhere in the middle, having elements of both tragedy and romance in it. It's in a similar vein to Poul Anderson's "The Queen of Air and Darkness," now that I think about it, with hints of the Scottish traditional "Twa Corbies."

The Mermaid

I am a young seaman, apprenticed to trade,
On the cold North Atlantic, my fortunes are made,
When one foggy morning, I happened to hear,
A lovely young mermaid a-calling me near.

"Come hither young sailor," this fair creature cried,
"Come over and join me neath my blanket of tide.
Come over and sit at my table to dine,
and never no more for the land lasses pine."

"For if you will leave the fair girls of the shore,
And never will wander the beaches of yore,
I'll give a soft pillow to lay down your head,
And a comely young mermaid to warm up your bed."

"What say ye, young sailor? With me will you lie?
Forever to dwell beneath Ocean's sweet sky?
And will you forget the young maids on the land,
And take from a mer-lass her heart and her hand?"

"I will not, I cannot," I sadly replied,
"I have a fair maiden, the jewel of my eye,
I told her I'd leave her, the wild seas to roam,
And come back with money to build her a home."

"She is a fair maiden from old London town,
And like leaves in autumn, her hair it is brown,
And the blue of the ocean, it dwells in her eye,
And never for you will I bid her goodbye."

"Then go!" cried the mermaid, her eyes flashing red,
"And test out her love for a man that is dead,
For on my wild ocean you're fated to die,
and never again with your maid will you lie!"

And with that, she left me alone on the sea,
With only dark thoughts to keep my company,
And soon as she vanished, calm waters did churn,
And with my last breath, for my fair maid I yearned."

She's since found another, though I know no rest,
consumed as I was in the cold ocean's breast,
For the love of a woman, and the hate of one too,
I'm doomed for to wander the cold ocean blue.

So now, to make finished my sad little tale,
Be mindful the ocean, where icy winds wail,
Be wary the mermaids, whose anger burns hot,
and be careful of maidens who'll weep for you not.

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