The Mermaid

File:
mermaid.nwcOctober 20083.02 kB00:04:30
Composer:Traditional English
First Line:One Friday morn when we set sail
Genre:Traditional Folk
Instruments:Piano, Voice
Submitter:Woodroffe, Richard
Email:richard.woodroffe (e-mail)
Mermaids turn up in the folklore of almost every seafaring nation. The attributes of the species vary slightly, but nearly all mermaids are portrayed as having long blond hair which they comb whilst looking at themselves in a mirror. It is considered bad luck to see a mermaid and in some traditions sailors see mermaids before they die. This popular sea song bears out this legend.
This is one of those songs you may have learned at school which turned out to have been a folk song. There is a longer version with no chorus in 'The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs'.