The Mermaid
When I was a lad in a fishing town C F
Me old man said to me: C F
"You can spend your life, your jolly life C F
Just sailing on the sea. G
You can search the world for pretty girls C F
Til your eyes are weak and dim, Am Em
But don't go searching for a mermaid, son F C
If you don't know how to swim" G C
[Chorus:]
'Cause her hair was green as seaweed F C
Her skin was blue and pale F C
Her face it was a work of art, F C
I loved that girl with all my heart F C
But I only liked the upper part F C
I did not like the tail G C
I signed onto a sailing ship
My very first day at sea
I seen the Mermaid in the waves,
Reaching out to me
"Come live with me in the sea said she,
Down on the ocean floor
And I'll show you a million wonderous things
You've never seen before
So over I jumped and she pulled me down,
Down to her seaweed bed
On a pillow made of a tortoise-shell
She placed beneath my head
She fed me shrimp and caviar
Upon a silver dish
From her head to her waist it was just my taste
But the rest of her was a fish
[Chorus]
But then one day, she swam away
So I sang to the clams and the whales
"Oh, how I miss her seaweed hair
And the silver shine of her scales"
But then her sister, she swam by
And set my heart awhirl
Cause her upper part was an ugly fish
But her bottom part was a girl
Yes her hair was green as seaweed
Her skin was blue and pale
Her legs they are a work of art,
I loved that girl with all my heart
And I don't give a damn about the upper part
Cause that's how I get my tail.
SONGS, POEMS & STORIES
The Jolly Butcher
[Chorus:]
Oh won't you come along with me love
Come along with me!
Come for one night and be my wife
And come along with me
Well it is of the jolly butcher as you might plainly see
As he rumbled out one morning in search of company
He went into a tavern and a fair girl he did see
Ah come for one night, be my wife, oh come along with me
He called for liquor of the best
And he makes such fortune play
Come have a drink, it will make us think
That it is our wedding day
[Chorus]
Well he called for a candle to light their way to bed
And when he had her in the room these words to her he said,
"A sovereign I will give to you, for to embrace your charms
And all that night, that fair young maid, lied in the butchers' arms
[Chorus]
Oh, Early the next morning be sure it went his way
He looked unto that fair young maid and unto her did say,
"That sovereign that I gave to you, do not think me strange,
Well that sovereign that I gave to you will you give me back me change!"
[Chorus]
Well about a 12 months later he roved out once more
And he went into the tavern where he'd often been before
He wasn't in there very long when his fair maid he did see
And she brought forth a baby three months old and placed it on his knee
When he saw the baby, he began to curse and swear
And he said unto that fair young maid, "Why did you bring him here?!"
"Well he is your own, kind sir", she said, "Do not think me strange,
Well that sovereign that you gave to me, I gives you back your change!!"
[Chorus 2x]
Scolding Wife
Well I came into a scolding wife a few short years ago
And ever since I lead a life of misery and woe
My wife she is a tyrant around the room and in
Ah I'd sell her to the devil for a glass or two of gin
Sure I'll get up and go to work as mild as any man
And she'll get up and dress herself and go and have her dram
And I chance to say a word it's well I know my due
She'll follow me with the fire shovel up and down the room
[Chorus]
And if the devil'd take her I'd thank him for his pain
I swear to God I'll hang meself if I get married again
And if the devil'd take her I'd thank him for his pain
Though I swear to God I'll hang myself if I get married again
When I get up at breakfast time she'll tap me on the head
When I come home at dinner time I'll find her drunk in bed
When I come home at supper time with patience I must stop
'Cause she drinks what's in the teapot and I must drink the slops
[Chorus]
Well once I asked me scolding wife if I could go to bed
She scarce gave me an hour on the pillow to lay me head
When like a roarin' lion she came bustin' down the door
She caught me by the middle and threw me naked on the floor
[Chorus]
Now me and my companions go to a public place
She'll search around the neighbourhood until she finds my face
She'll hoist me up in ridicule before the company
Sayin' 'Petticoats is your master and forever more shall be'
[Chorus (3x)]
Mari Mac
There's a neat little lass and her name is Mari Mac
Make no mistake, she's the girl I'm gonna track
Lot of other fellas try to get her on her back
But I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early
[Chorus:]
Mari Mac's mother's making Mari Mac marry me
My mother's making me marry Mari Mac
Well I'm going to marry Mari for when Mari's taking care of me
We'll all be feeling merry when I marry Mari Mac
Now Mari and her mother are an awful lot together
In fact you hardly see the one without the other
And people often wonder if it's Mari or her mother
Or both of them together I am courting
[Chorus]
Well up among the heather in the hills of Bonifee
Well I had a bonnie lass sitting on me knee
A bumble bee stung me right above me knee
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee
[Chorus]
Well I said "Wee bonnie lassie, where you going to spend the day?"
She said "Among the heather in the hills of Benifee"
Where all the boys and girls are making out so free
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee
[Chorus]
The wedding's on Wednesday, everything's arranged
Soon her name will be changed to mine unless her mind be changed
And making the arrangements, I'm feeling quite deranged
Marriage is an awful undertaking
[Chorus]
Sure to be a grand affair, grander than a fair
Going to be a fork and plate for every man that's there
And I'll be a bugger if I don't get my share
If I don't we'll be very much mistaken
[Chorus]
There's a neat little lass and her name is Mari Mac
Make no mistake, she's the girl I'm gonna track
Lot of other fellas try to get up on her back
I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early
[Chorus]
C F
C F
C F
G
C F
Am Em
C F
C F
F C
F C
F C
F C
F C
G C
G
C D G
G
C D G
G D
G F C D
G D
G F C D
G
D
G
F C D
Drinking Song From The Tomb
Come hither me lads with your tankards of ale,
And drink to the present before it should fail
Pile each on your platter a mountain of beef,
Cos it's eating and drinking what brings us relief
So fill up your glass, for life will soon pass,
When you're dead you'll ne'er drink to your king nor your lass
Anacreon had a red nose so they say,
But what's a red nose if you're happy and gay?
Gods split me I'd rather be red whilst I'm here,
Than white as a lily and dead half the year,
Come hither my miss and give us a kiss,
In Hel there's no innkeepers daughter like this.
Young Garith propped up just as straight as he's able,
Will soon flip his wig and slip under the table,
So fill up your glasses and pass them around,
Better under the table than under the ground.
So revel and chaff as ye thirstily quaff,
Under six feet of dirt 'tis less easy to laugh!
The fiends strike me blue! I'm scarce able to walk,
And damn if I can stand upright or talk.
Here landlord, bid a lass to summon a chair,
I'll try home for a while for my wife is not there,
So lend us a hand I'm not able to stand,
But I'm gay whist I linger on top of the land.
Good Night My Friend
Lay by my side, and we'll sail away
Off to the shores of another day.
All set to go once I hear you say,
Goodnight my friend, until the morning.
Up we will float as we close our eyes.
Stars all around us like fireflies.
Just me and you drifting through the skies.
Goodnight my friend.
Not a thought.
Not a care.
Resting safe and sound
With each other there.
And so we'll rock on our nighttime ride
Cozy and warm on the rolling tide.
Till we arrive on the morning side
Our journey's end.
Goodnight.
Sleep tight.
We're going to be alright.
Goodnight my friend.