Married to a Mermaid

Oh, 'twas on the deep Atlantic, in the equionnoctial gales,
That a young feller fell overboard, among the sharks and whales;
He fell right down so quickly, so headlong down fell he,
That he went out of sight like a streak of light,
To the bottom of the deep, blue sea.

Singing Rule Britannia,
Britannia rules the waves
For Britons never, never, never
Will be slaves.

The boats went out to look after him and we thought to find his corpse,
When he came to the top with a bang and sung in a voice sepulchrally hoarse;
'Oh, my comrades and my messmates all, pray do not grieve for me,
For I'm mar-ri-ed to a mer-mi-ed at the bottom of the deep blue sea.'


'In my cheste my twelve months pay you'll find, likewise a lock of my hair,
And this locket from my neck you'll give unto my young wife dear,
My carte-de-visite to my grandmother take, tell her not to take on about me,
For I'm mar-ri-ed to a mer-mi-ed at the bottom of the deep blue sea.


He told us how, when he first went down, the fishes all came round he,
And they seemed to think, as they stared at him, that he made uncommonly free.
But down he went, though he didn't know how and he thought, 'It's all up to me.'
When he came to a lovely mer-mi-ed at the bottom of the deep blue sea.


She raised herself on her beautiful tail and gave him her wet, white hand;
Saying, 'Long have I waited for you, my dear, you're welcome safe to land.
Go back to your messmates for the last time and tell them all from me,
That you're mar-ri-ed to a mer-mi-ed at the bottom of the deep blue sea.