No. 289: The Mermaid
[As pointed out by Bruce Olsen the earliest known version of the Mermaid, "The Praise of Sailors" c. 1605-1632 (see immediately below), was missed by Child. Here are Olsen's notes and the text:
John Wright started publishing in 1605, adding his street address to his imprint in 1632, so this is no later. Child, "The Mermaid", #289, completely neglected the 17th century version, but it is obviously the original form of the song.
Later, c 1640, Martin Parker reworked it as "Saylors for my money", (ZN728) and added a chorus line "How ere the wind doth blow". Later yet, about 1660, J. P. (probably John Phillips), again reworked it as "Neptune's Raging Fury", revising the first line to "You gentlemen of England", and chorus to "When the stormy winds do blow (ZN3028). The tune of this latter is "When the stormy winds do blow", B512 among the broadside ballad tunes) J. P.'s version was reprinted fairly often until the late 18th century, when it was again lightly reworked as "Ye Gentlemen of England".
However, Parker's version and J. P.'s version leave out the mermaid, the sailors skipping to the top, and the landsmen lying down below, so they are not in the line of descent of "The Mermaid".
The praise of Sailors, heere set forth, with their hard
fortunes which doe befall them on the Seas, when
Land-men sleepe safe in their Beds
To a pleasant new tune.
As I lay musing in my bed,
full warm, a well at ease,
I thought upon the lodging hard
poore sailors have at Seas.
They bide it out with hunger and cold,
and many a bitter blast,
And many a time constrain'd they are
for to cut down their Mast.
Their victuals and their Ordinance,
and ought else that they haue,
They throw it overboard with speed,
and seeke their liues to saue.
When as the raging Seas doe fome,
and loftie winds do blow,
The Saylors they goe to the top,
when Land-men stay below.
Our Masters Mate takes Helme in hand,
his Course he steeres full well,
When as the loftie winds do blow,
and raging Seas doe swell.
The Master to his Compass goes.
so well he plies his charge:
He sends a Youth to the Top amaine,
for to vnsling the Yeards.
The Boatson he's under the Deck,
a man of courage bold;
To th'top toth'top, my liuely Lads,
hold fast my hearts of gold.
The Pilot he stands on the Claine,
with Line and Lead to sound,
To see how farre and neare they are
from any dangerous ground.
It is a testamonial good,
we are not far from land,
There sits a Mermaid on the Rocke,
with Combe and Glasse in hand.
Our captain he is on the Poope,
a man of might and power,
And lookes when raging seas doe gape
our bodies to devour.
Our royall Ship is runne to racke,
that was so stout and trim,
And some are put unto their Witts,
either to sinke or swim.
Our Ship that was before so good,
and eke likewise so trim,
Is now with raging Seas grown leakt,
and water fast comes in.
The Quarter master is a man,
so well his charge plies he,
He calls them to the Pumpe amaine,
to keepe their leake-ship free.
And many dangers likewise they
doe many times endure,
When as they met their enemies,
that come with might and power:
And seeke likewise from them to take
their lives and eke their goods:
Thus Saylors they sometimes endure,
upon the surging floods.
But when as they doe come to Land,
and homewards safe returne,
They are most kinde good fellowes all,
and scorne ever to mourne.
And likewise they will call for Wine,
and score it on the post:
For Sailors they are honest men,
and will pay well their Hoast.
For Saylors they be honest men,
and they doe take great paines,
When landed men and rufling lads.
doe rob them of their gaines.
Out Saylors they worke night and day,
their manhood for to try,
When landed men and ruffling Jacks,
doe in their Cabines lye.
Therefore let all good minded men,
give eare unto my Song,
And say also as well as I,
Saylors deserve no wrong.
This have I done for Saylors sakes,
in token of goodwill:
If ever I can doe them good,
I will be ready still.
God blesse them eke by Sea and land,
and also other men;
And as my Song beginning had,
so must it have and end.
FINIS
Printed for I. Wright.[1605-32]
In the US, Kittredge collected a version (the end resembling Child E, but having the first two measures of the pre1632, "Praise for the Sailors") of the ballad dating back to circa 1808. A version (resembling Child D b) was published as a broadside in the early 1800s (Deming c. 1938). The inclusion of "The Mermaid" in the 1909 Heart Songs as well as the 1868 Carmina Collegensia (songs for college students) and various songsters shows that print versions were available and people sang them. How many people we don't know--but they promoted the spread of this ballad. For example, Heart Songs boasted that it was, "a collection of favorite songs voted on by 20,000 persons."
The chorus and sometimes the verses often feature an extended last line as found in the Carmina Collegensia and in Child B, C, and D.
Early country music artists Ernest Stoneman ("The Sailor's Song" 1925 Okeh, "The Raging Sea, How it Roars" 1928 Victor) and the Carter Family ("The Wave on the Sea") made recordings. Bascom Lamar Lunsford learned a version when he was just fifteen (Listen: "The Mermaid Song").
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (There are no footnotes for this ballad)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-F (Changes for B b-c, D b and E b are found in End-Notes)
5. End-Notes
6. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 289. The Mermaid
A. Roud No. 124: The Mermaid (215 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 289. The Mermaid (Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. English and Other Versions (Including Child version A-F)
4. US & Canada Versions
Child's Narrative: 289. The Mermaid
A. 'The Seamen's Distress,' the second piece in The Glasgow Lasses Garland, British Museum, 11621. c. 3 (68). "Newcastle, 1765?"
B. a. 'The stormy winds do blow,' Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 742.
b. The same, p. 743.
c. Notes and Queries, 6th Series, VII, 276.
C. Communicated by Mr. Chappell. Now printed in Old English Ditties, Oxenford and Macfarren, 'The Mermaid,' I, 206.
D. 'The Mermaid.'
a. Long, Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect, 1886, p. 42.
b. Broadside, H. Such, 177 Union St., Boro'.
E. a. Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 145.
b. 'The Bonnie Mermaid,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xxiii, No XXX, one stanza.
F. 'Greenland,' Kinloch Manuscripts, VII, 245.
This is the ballad referred to under 'Sir Patrick Spens,' II, 19. It is still common as a broadside.
B a 6 has taken a burlesque turn. It is scarcely worth while to attempt to account for the vagaries of F, in which 'the kemp o the ship' takes the place of the mermaid, and the kaim and glass are exchanged for the bottle and glass. The first stanza of F may not belong here, or possibly (but not probably) a voyage to Greenland may have been lost from the other copies.
In B, C, D, the ship sails on Friday, against all good rules.
'The Sailor's Caution,' the third piece in The Sailing Trade, Glasgow, Printed by J. and M. Robertson, Saltmarket, 1801, begins like A, has a stanza (the fifth) representing A 4, 5, and concludes thus, after a stanza (the sixth) resembling A 3:
The mermaid on the rock doth sit,
With comb and glass in hand:
'Cheer up, cheer up, bold mariners,
You are not far from land.
'So now cheer up, bold mariners,
Or smother in the deep;
All this I do for a sailor's sake,
Whilst losing of my sleep.
'Here is a token, bold mariners,
A token of good will,
And if ever that you come this way,
'T is here you'll find me still.'
British Museum, 11621. b. 13 (15).
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
This is the ballad referred to under 'Sir Patrick Spens' (No, 5S). It is still common as a broadside.
Child's Ballad Texts
'The Seamen's Distress,'- Version A; Child 289; Mermaid
The Glasgow Lasses Garland, the second piece, British Museum, 11621. c. 3 (68). "Newcastle, 1765?"
1 As we lay musing in our beds
So well and so warm at ease,
I thought upon those lodging-beds
Poor seamen have at seas.
2 Last Easter day, in the morning fair,
We was not far from land,
Where we spied a mermaid on the rock,
With comb and glass in hand.
3 The first came up the mate of our ship,
With lead and line in hand,
To sound and see how deep we was
From any rock or sand.
4 The next came up the boatswain of our ship,
With courage stout and bold:
'Stand fast, stand fast, my brave lively lads,
Stand fast, my brave hearts of gold!'
5 Our gallant ship is gone to wreck,
Which was so lately trimmd;
The raging seas has sprung a leak,
And the salt water does run in.
6 Our gold and silver, and all our cloths,
And all that ever we had,
We forced was to heave them overboard,
Thinking our lives to save.
7 In all, the number that was on board
Was five hundred and sixty-four,
And all that ever came alive on shore
There was but poor ninety-five.
8 The first bespoke the captain of our ship,
And a well-spoke man was he;
'I have a wife in fair Plymouth town,
And a widow I fear she must be.'
9 The next bespoke the mate of our ship,
And a well-bespoke man was he;
'I have a wife in fair Portsmouth,
And a widow I fear she must be.'
10 The next bespoke the boatswain of our ship,
And a well-bespoke man was he;
'I have a wife in fair Exeter,
And a widow I fear she must be.'
11 The next bespoke the little cabbin-boy,
And a well-bespoke boy was he;
'I am as sorry for my mother dear
As you are for your wives all three.
12 'Last night, when the moon shin'd bright,
My mother had sons five,
But now she may look in the salt seas
And find but one alive.'
13 'Call a boat, call a boat, you little Plymouth boys,
Don't you hear how the trumpet[s] sound?
[For] the want of our boat our gallant ship is lost,
And the most of our merry men is drownd.'
14 Whilst the raging seas do roar,
And the lofty winds do blow,
And we poor seamen do lie on the top,
Whilst the landmen lies below
-----------
'The stormy winds do blow,'- Version B a; Child 289 The Mermaid
a. Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, p. 742.
b. The same, p. 743, one stanza and the burden, contributed by Mr. Charles Sloman, in 1840.
c. Notes and Queries, 6th Series, VII, 276, communicated from memory by Mr. Thomas Bayne, Helensburgh, N. B., stanzas 1, 6.
1 One Friday morn when we set sail,
Not very far from land,
We there did espy a fair pretty maid
With a comb and a glass in her hand, her hand, her hand,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
While the raging seas did roar,
And the stormy winds did blow,
While we jolly sailor-boys were up into the top,
And the land-lubbers lying down below, below, below,
And the land-lubbers lying down below.
2 Then up starts the captain of our gallant ship,
And a brave young man was he:
'I've a wife and a child in fair Bristol town,
But a widow I fear she will be.'
For the raging seas, etc.
3 Then up starts the mate of our gallant ship,
And a bold young man was he:
'Oh! I have a wife in fair Portsmouth town,
But a widow I fear she will be.'
For the raging seas, etc.
4 Then up starts the cook of our gallant ship,
And a gruff old soul was he:
'Oh! I have a wife in fair Plymouth town,
But a widow I fear she will be.'
5 And then up spoke the little cabin-boy,
And a pretty little boy was he;
'Oh! I am more grievd for my daddy and my mammy
Than you for your wives all three.'
6 Then three times round went our gallant ship,
And three times round went she;
For the want of a life-boat they all went down,
And she sank to the bottom of the sea.
--------------
'The Mermaid'- Version C; Child 289 Mermaid
Communicated by Mr. W. Chappell, as noted down by him from the singing of men dressed as sailors, on Tower Hill. Subsequently printed, with a few variations, in Old English Ditties, Oxenford and Macfarren, I, 206.
1 One Friday morn as we'd set sail,
And our ship not far from land,
We there did espy a fair mermaid,
With a comb and a glass in her hand, her hand, her hand,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
While the raging seas did roar,
And the stormy winds did blow,
And we jolly sailor-boys were up, up aloft,
And the landsmen were lying down below,
And the landlubbers all down below, below, below,
And the landlubbers all down below.
2 Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship,
Who at once did our peril see;
I have married a wife in fair London town,
And tonight she a widow will be.'
3 And then up spoke the litel cabin-boy,
And a fair-haired boy was he;
'I've a father and mother in fair Portsmouth town,
And this night she will weep for me.'
4 Now three times round goes our gallant ship,
And three times round went she;
For the want of a life-boat they all were drownd,
As she went to the bottom of the sea.
-----------
'The Mermaid'- Version D a; Child 289 The Mermaid
a. Long, A Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect, London, 1886, p. 142.
b. H. Such, 177 Union St., Boro'.
1 Twas a Friday morning when we set sail,
And our ship was not far from land,
When there we spied a fair pretty maid,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
Oh, the raging seas they did roar,
And the stormy winds they did blow,
While we poor sailor-boys were all up aloft,
And the land-lubbers lying down below, below, below,
And the land-lubbers lying down below.
2 Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship,
And a mariner good was he;
'I have married a wife in fair London town,
And this night a widow she will be.'
3 Then up spoke the cabin-boy of our gallant ship,
And a brave little boy was he;
'I've a father and a mother in old Portsmouth town,
And this night they will both weep for me.'
4 Then up spoke a seaman of our gallant ship,
And a well-spoken man was he;
'For want of a long-boat we shall all be drowned,
And shall sink to the bottom of the sea.'
5 Then three times round went that gallant ship,
And down like a stone sank she;
The moon shone bright, and the stars gave their light,
But they were all at the bottom of the sea.
-----------
'The Bonnie Mermaid'- Version E a; Child 289 Mermaid
a. Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 145.
b. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xxiii, No XXX, the first stanza.
1 Up and spoke the bonny mermaid,
Wi the comb and the glass in her hand;
Says, Cheer up your hearts, my mariners all,
You are not very far from the land.
And the raging seas do foam, foam,
And the stormy winds do blow,
While we poor sailors must mount to the top,
When the landsmen they lye low.
2 Out and spoke the captain of our ship,
And a fine little man was he;
'O I've a wife in fair London town,
And a widow this night she shall be.'
3 Out and spoke the mate of our ship,
And a tight little man was he;
'O I've a wife in Dublin city,
And a widow this night she shall be.'
4 Out and spoke our second mate,
And a clever little man was he;
'Oh I have a wife in Greenoch town,
And a widow this night she shall be.'
5 Out and spoke our little prentice boy,
And a fine little boy was he;
'Oh I am sorry for my mother,' he said,
'As you are for your wives all three.'
6 Out and spoke the cook of our ship,
And a rusty old dog was he;
Says, I am as sorry for my pats and my pans
As you are for your wives all three.
-----------
'Greenland'- Version F; Child 289 The Mermaid
Kinloch Manuscripts, VII, 245. From the recitation of a little boy from Glasgow, who sang it in Grove St., Edinburgh, July, 1826.
1 Greenland, Greenland, is a bonny, bonny place,
Whare there's neither grief nor flowr,
Whare there's neither grief nor tier to be seen,
But hills and frost and snow.
2 Up starts the kemp o the ship,
Wi a psalm-book in his hand:
'Swoom away, swoom away, my merry old boys,
For you'll never see dry land.'
3 Up starts the gaucy cook,
And a weil gaucy cook was he;
'I wad na gie aw my pans and my kettles
For aw the lords in the sea.'
4 Up starts the kemp o the ship,
Wi a bottle and a glass intil his hand;
'Swoom away, swoom away, my merry old sailors,
For you'll never see dry land.'
5 O the raging seas they row, row, row,
The stormy winds do blow,
As sune as he had gane up to the tap,
As . . . low.
---------------
End-Notes
A. 62. Qy, that ever we did have?
73,4. Qy, And in all, there was but poor ninety-five
That ever came alive on shore.?
141. Whilst we in the raging seas do blow.
142. And there lofty minds.
B. b. 21. Then up spoke.
23,4. I have sixty gallant seamen aboard of my ship,
But none half so gallant as he, as he, as he,
But there's none half so gallant as he.
Burden:
While the vivid lightnings flash,
And the stormy winds do blow,
While we poor seamen are up, up aloft,
And the landsmen are all down below, below, below,
And the landsmen are all down below.
c. 12. And our ship not far.
63. we all.
64. And sank.
C. 13. Var, a fair pretty maid.
In Old English Ditties, etc. (perhaps Oxenford's changes):
11. when we set.
13. a fair pretty maid.
24. this night.
34. they will.
41. Then three times round went.
43. they both went down.
44. As she sunk to.
Burden:
4. And the land-lubbers lying down below, below, below.
5. And the landsmen were all down below.
6. Wanting.
D. b. 1 On Friday morning as we set sail,
It was not far from land,
O there I espy'd a fair pretty girl,
With the comb and the glass in her hand.
O the stormy winds they did blow,
And the raging seas did roar,
While we poor sailors go up to the top,
And the land-lubbers lie down below.
2 Then up spoke a boy of our gallant ship,
And a well-spoken boy was he;
'I've a father and mother in fair Portsmouth town,
And this night they will weep for me.'
3 Then up spoke a man of our gallant ship,
And a well-spoken man was he;
'I have married a wife in fair London town,
And this night a widow she shall be.'
4 Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship,
And a valiant man was he;
'For want of a long-boat we shall all be drowned,'
So she sunk to the bottom of the sea.
5 The moon shone bright, and the stars gave light,
And my mother is looking for me;
She might look, she might weep, with watery eyes,
She might look to the bottom of the sea.
A broadside by Birt, otherwise like Such's, adds:
Three times round went our gallant ship,
And three times round went she;
Three times round went our gallant ship,
Then she sunk to the bottom of the sea.
British Museum, 11621. k. 5 (167).
E. b. 1 O up and spak the bonnie mermaid,
Wi the glass and the kaim in her hand;
'Reek about, reek about, ye mariners all,
For ye're not very far from the land.'
F. 32. was she.
Additions and Corrections
Supplementary
151 a. Insert F before the last version.