As we sailed out one evening fair
Out of sight of land,
There I saw a mermaid a-sitting on a rock
With a comb and a glass in her hand
A-combing down her long, yellow hair,
And her skin was like a lily so fair;
Her cheeks were like two roses and her eyes were like a star
And her voice was like a nightingale clear.
This little mermaid sprung into the deep.
The wind began for to blow.
The hail and the rain were so dark in the air
We'll never see land no more.
At last came down the captain of the ship
With a plumb and a line in his hand.
All for to plumb the sea, my boys, to see how far it was
To the rock or else to the sand.
He plumbed him behind and he plumbed him before,
The ship kept turning around.
Our captain cried out: Our ship it does wreck,
For the mermaid is pulling us down.
Come throw out your lading as fast as you can,
The truth to you I'll tell.
This night we all must part from our lives
To heaven or else to hell.
Come all you unmarried men that's living on the land,
That's living at home at your ease
Try the best you can your living for to gain
And never incline to the seas.
[I have made a few changes: line 1: as I walked out. verse 4: He plumbed the sea. verse 5: for the measles runs around. verse 6: I added from our lives.]