THE CAPTAIN ON THE COAST OF MAINE
as recorded by Vivianne Richman on Folkways
This grand song was listed NOWHERE either in the booklet or on the LP itself. It was simply THERE after the last song.

The captain headed home again,
This time a priceless quary,
He brought upon the coast of Maine,
A foreign bride to marry.

He built for her a mansion great
Adorned with splendid treasure,
He sealed it with an iron gate,
And locked it on his pleasure.

For countless days he knew a web,
Of olabyrinthian charms,
Uncounted night the flow and ebb,
Of incandescent arms.

Until he woke to find the dawn,
Imperatively bright,
And knew that soon he must be gone,
To sail the ocean wide.

'Twas then he told her not to fear,
"When I put out to sea,
Open the gate but once a year,
Let no one in but me."

"When will you come again my love,
How shall I know it's you?"
"When seagulls flea the summer dove,
When roses shed their dew."

"When summer puts its golden crown,
Upon the wedded shore,
When sails of dragon blood bear down,
I will be home once more."

She saw him to his ship below,
And when the tide was high,
With full rigged gear and heaving bow,
His vessel spanned the sky.

That solemn pledge, his pilot light,
Went to the deep with him;
And every year at summer's height,
She let a stranger in.

Art