The Mermaid- Carmina Collegensia (MA) 1868 Waite
[From Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges, with Piano-forte Accompaniment; edited by Henry Randall Waite; 1868 edition.
This is one of the first printed versions in the US and Canada that use the extended last verse (With a comb and a glass in her hand, hand, hand,) that is found in some traditional versions (also Child B, C, and D).
R. Matteson 2014]
1 'Twas Friday morn when we set sail,
And we were not far from the land,
When the captain spied a lovely mermaid,
With a comb and a glass in her hand, hand, hand,
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
Chorus: Oh the stormy winds how they blow, blow, blow,
And the raging seas how they go.
While we poor sailors are climbing aloft
And ye land lubber lying down below, below,
And ye land lubbers lying down below.
2 Then up spake the captain of our gallant ship,
And a well-spoken man was he,
"I have married a wife in Salem town;
But to-night she a widow will be, will be,
But to-night she a widow will be."
Chorus.—Oh the stormy winds, &c .
3 Then out spoke the boy of our gallant ship,
And a well-spoken laddie was he,—
"I've a father and mother in Boston city;
But to-night they childless will be, will be,
But to-night they childless will be."
Chorus.—Oh the stormy winds, &c.
4 "Oh, the moon shines bright, and the stars give light;
Oh, my mother'll be looking for me;
She may look, she may weep, she may look to the deep,
She may look to the bottom of the sea, sea, sea,
She may look to the bottom of the sea."
Chorus--Oh the stormy winds, &c.
5 Then three times round went our gallant ship,
Then three times round went she;
And the third time that our gallant ship went round,
She sank to the bottom of the sea, sea, sea.
She sank to the bottom of the sea.
Chorus-- Oh the stormy winds, &c.