For "The Mermaid" (Child Ballad #42), see Clerk Colvill.
The Mermaid is a ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad #289, Roud 124. Dating to around the mid-18th century, this song is known by a number of names, including Waves on the Sea,[1]The Stormy Winds[2] and The Wrecked Ship.[1]
The Mermaid from The Book of British Ballads (1842)
The song belongs in the category of sea ballads, being a song sailors sung during their time off and not while they worked, but is more commonly thought of as a sea shanty.[3] It is well known in American folk tradition, and the text has appeared in many forms in both print and oral mediums.[4][5] The ballad remains part of American culture as a song sung at camps operated by the Boy Scouts of America as well as in public school music education classes.[6]
The ballad describes a ship that left port, its misadventure and eventual sinking. The moral of the song is that mermaids are a sign of an impending shipwreck.[1] It is sung from the point of view of a member of the ship's crew, although the ship sinks without any survivors. In most versions the ship is unnamed but in a version sung by Almeda Riddle, the mermaid disappears and the ship is identified as the Merrymac.[7] Often the ship is said to be departing on a Friday morning, but there are other versions of the lyrics including one that has it leaving on a Saturday night.[5][8] On the way out to sea, the captain sees a mermaid with a "comb and a glass in her hand".[8]
Three parallel stanzas most often follow describing how three of the crew members, contemplating impending disaster, would rather be somewhere else than on the ocean floor; for example, the cook would rather be with his pots and pans.[5] In English versions crew members often identify their home port and the people (parents, wives, children) who will mourn for them.[9]
The home of the crew members varies from version to version, but it has been assigned to almost every port town in Britain and the East Coast of the United States. At the end of the ballad the ship turns around three times and sinks with all hands; there are no survivors.[10]
Between each of the verses there oftentimes is a chorus describing the conditions sailors face in a storm and the state of the sea that was caused by the mermaid.
Þa ofer wídne gársecg wéow unwidre ceald, Sum hagusteald on lagu féoll on nicera geweald. He legde lást swa fýres gnást, he snúde on sunde fléah, Oþþæt he métte meremenn déopan grunde néah.
When the cold blast was blowing across the broad ocean, a young man fell into the sea, into the power of nixies. As fast as fire he made his way, he swam along so quickly – until he met the mermen near the deep sea-bottom.
Oh 'twas in the broad Atlantic, mid the equinoctial gales That a young fellow fell overboard among the sharks and whales And down he went as a streak of light, so quickly down went he Until he came to a mermaid at the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Roud, Steve; Bishop, Julia (2012). The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. London: Penguin Classic. ISBN978-0141194615.
External linksedit
Lyrics: The Mermaid
Alternate Version of the Lyrics: The Mermaid
December 20, 2023
mermaid, ballad, mermaid, child, ballad, clerk, colvill, mermaid, ballad, catalogued, child, ballad, roud, dating, around, 18th, century, this, song, known, number, names, including, waves, stormy, winds, wrecked, ship, mermaid, from, book, british, ballads, 1. For The Mermaid Child Ballad 42 see Clerk Colvill The Mermaid is a ballad catalogued as Child Ballad 289 Roud 124 Dating to around the mid 18th century this song is known by a number of names including Waves on the Sea 1 The Stormy Winds 2 and The Wrecked Ship 1 The Mermaid from The Book of British Ballads 1842 The song belongs in the category of sea ballads being a song sailors sung during their time off and not while they worked but is more commonly thought of as a sea shanty 3 It is well known in American folk tradition and the text has appeared in many forms in both print and oral mediums 4 5 The ballad remains part of American culture as a song sung at camps operated by the Boy Scouts of America as well as in public school music education classes 6 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References and bibliography 6 External linksSynopsis editThe ballad describes a ship that left port its misadventure and eventual sinking The moral of the song is that mermaids are a sign of an impending shipwreck 1 It is sung from the point of view of a member of the ship s crew although the ship sinks without any survivors In most versions the ship is unnamed but in a version sung by Almeda Riddle the mermaid disappears and the ship is identified as the Merrymac 7 Often the ship is said to be departing on a Friday morning but there are other versions of the lyrics including one that has it leaving on a Saturday night 5 8 On the way out to sea the captain sees a mermaid with a comb and a glass in her hand 8 Three parallel stanzas most often follow describing how three of the crew members contemplating impending disaster would rather be somewhere else than on the ocean floor for example the cook would rather be with his pots and pans 5 In English versions crew members often identify their home port and the people parents wives children who will mourn for them 9 The home of the crew members varies from version to version but it has been assigned to almost every port town in Britain and the East Coast of the United States At the end of the ballad the ship turns around three times and sinks with all hands there are no survivors 10 Between each of the verses there oftentimes is a chorus describing the conditions sailors face in a storm and the state of the sea that was caused by the mermaid Legacy editThe philologist and fantasy author J R R Tolkien wrote a song in Old English to be sung to the tune of The Mermaid 11 First verse of one of J R R Tolkien s Old English Songs for the Philologists Ofer widne garsecg Across the broad ocean prose translation The MermaidTHa ofer widne garsecg weow unwidre ceald Sum hagusteald on lagu feoll on nicera geweald He legde last swa fyres gnast he snude on sunde fleah Oththaet he mette meremenn deopan grunde neah When the cold blast was blowing across the broad ocean a young man fell into the sea into the power of nixies As fast as fire he made his way he swam along so quickly until he met the mermen near the deep sea bottom Oh twas in the broad Atlantic mid the equinoctial gales That a young fellow fell overboard among the sharks and whales And down he went as a streak of light so quickly down went he Until he came to a mermaid at the bottom of the deep blue sea See also editList of the Child BalladsNotes edit a b c Nelson Burns Atkinson 1998 p 446 Atkinson 1998 p 440 Niles 2000 p 325 a b c Cazden Haufrecht amp Studer 1983 p 262 Hilcourt 1961 p 20 The Merrymac at Sea Max Hunter Folk Song Collection Missouri State University Retrieved 11 December 2018 a b Niles 2000 p 326 Roud amp Bishop 2012 p 33 Cazden Haufrecht amp Studer 1983 p 263 Shippey Tom 2005 1982 Appendix B Four Asterisk Poems The Road to Middle Earth Third ed HarperCollins pp 399 408 ISBN 978 0261102750 References and bibliography editAtkinson David 1998 The Child Ballads from England and Wales in the James Madison Carpenter Collection Folk Music Journal 7 4 Cazden Norman Haufrecht Herbert Studer Norman 1983 Folk Songs of the Catskills State University of New York Press ISBN 0 87395 580 3 Hilcourt Bill August 1961 Green Bar Bill Says Keep Your Feet Dry Boys Life Boy Scouts of America Nelson Burns Lesley The Mermaid Retrieved 8 August 2012 Niles John Jacob 2000 The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles University Press of Kentucky ISBN 0813109876 Roud Steve Bishop Julia 2012 The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs London Penguin Classic ISBN 978 0141194615 External links editLyrics The Mermaid Alternate Version of the Lyrics The Mermaid Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Mermaid ballad amp oldid 1190679993, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
