O The Sea How It Rolls- Melton (KY) 1917 Sharp A
[From English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, Vol 2 by Cecil J. Sharp and Maud Karpeles; 1932 edition.
My title, Sharp used the generic title, The Mermaid for all four versions, no local titles supplied. They were collected in 1917 or 1918 so they could not have been published in his first 1917 book. This version is missing the first verse and has "landlords" for the last verse of the chorus (see William Larkin's 1867 version). Below are his notes.
R. Matteson 2014]
No. 42. The Mermaid.
Texts without tunes: Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads, No. 289. A. Williams's Folk Songs of the Upper Thames, p. 84. W. R. Mackenzie's Ballads and Sea Songs of Nova Scotia, No. 16. Cox's Folk Songs of the South, p. 172 (see also further references). Journal of American Folk-Lore, xxvi. 175.
Texts with tunes: Journal of the Folk-Song Society, iii. 47. Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Times, ii. 742. Tozer's Fifty Sailors' Songs, p. 92. British Ballads from Maine, p. 363. Davis's Traditional Ballads of Virginia, pp. 521 and 602. Journal of American Folk-Lore, xviii. 136. McGill's Folk Songs of the Kentucky Mountains, p. 46.
No. 42 The Mermaid
A. "O the Sea How It Rolls." Sung by MRS. LEONA MELTON at Mackintosh Creek, Hyden, Leslie Co., Ky., Oct. 2, 1917
1. The first on deck was the captain of the ship,
A fine looking fellow was he:
It's I have a wife in South Amerikee,
And tonight she's looking for me.
CHORUS: O the sea how it rolls,
The cold, chilly wind how it blows.
We're poor sailors struggling in the deep
And the landlords [1] safe on the shore.
2 The next on deck was the conductor of the ship,
A fine looking fellow was he:
I have a wife and three little babes,
And to-night they're looking for me.
O the sea how it rolls, etc.
3 The next on deck was the doctor of the ship,
A fine looking fellow was he:
I have two patients on the next deck below,
And to-night they're looking for me.
4 The next on deck was a little boy,
A wretched looking fellow was he;
He said: I care no more for my wife and little babes
Than I do for the fish in the sea.
5 Nine times around sailed the little ship,
Nine times around sailed she,
Nine times around sailed the little ship,
And sank to the depths of the sea.
1. Usually "landlubbers" or "landsmen." Compare to William Larkin's 1867 version.