The Mermaid (5)

We were sailing with the fair winds
In the fair winds we did go;
Our galliant ship had struck a rock
To the bottom she laid low.

(At) The very first blow our ship did strike
Our captain, he did cry,
"Lord God, have mercy on our souls
For into the deep we'll die,"

While here alone we sigh and mourn
While others sport and play;
If I had my Molly along with me
I would always think it day.

Sometimes on board, sometimes on deck
Sometimes we're here below,
While us poor sailors climb to the top
The landlubbers lie down low.

Child #289
From Folk Songs of the Catskills, Cazden, Haufrecht, Studer
Collected from George Edwards
RG
Apr98