Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid

Subject: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From:
Date: 04 Jan 99 - 08:42 PM

I am looking for the lyrics and music for "The Mermaid" as Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy sing. It's a song about a fisherman who marries a mermaid who has become a human. If she returns to the water she will return to being a mermaid. She does to save her husband. Does anyone know any place I can access to find it? Please send responses to [e-mail] Thanks

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Don Meixner
Date: 04 Jan 99 - 10:15 PM

Actually you are looking for Gordon Bok's Peter Kagan and The Wind. Remember the line..

"Kagan, Kagan, Kagan, Bring the dory Home."

Thats the wife singing to Peter Kagan from the shore. This is an outgrowth of the Great Silkie (Seal Folk) legends that we discussed a month or so back.

"Peter Kagan and The Wind" can be found along with other great songs in Gordon's song book from Folk-Legacy. Sandy Paton who is on this list quite often can probably better direct you than I towards these lyrics and chords.

Don Meixner

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 04 Jan 99 - 10:58 PM

Thanks, Don. I thought perhaps it was "Peter Kagan and the Wind" that was being sought. I knew Makem and Clancy had recorded it, but I thought I ought to let someone else suggest it, in case I was wrong. But now, since you have:

"Peter Kagan and the Wind" - with complete text and music - may be found in Gordon Bok's Time and the Flying Snow, the book of his songs that we published here at Folk-Legacy Records. The original recording of the song may also be found on Gordon's CD North Wind's Clearing (CD-1005). It is also available on the cassette titled Peter Kagan and the Wind (C-44). Both the CD and the cassette come with booklets that include the text, but they do not include the chords. Sorry 'bout that. I wasn't smart enough to think of that at the time. :-(

All of the above items are available through our web site, with secure credit card ordering. Since I don't have Joe Offer's note in front of me about how to hide the web address and give you a simple "click here," I'll just have to write it out for you. Maybe Joe will notice and do a proper fix for me (he often does, for many of us). (http://www.folklegacy.com/)

Sandy

You blew that one, Sandy. Your angle brackets made the URL invisible until I replaced them with parentheses. Better luck next time.

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 04 Jan 99 - 11:01 PM

That's supposed to be followed by - Folk legacy

Joe????

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jan 99 - 02:49 AM

Much better, Sandy. One gold star for you.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 05 Jan 99 - 04:03 AM

I'm a slow learner, Joe, but faithful to the end. Tried to download ABC, was told I needed some sort of UnZip stuff. Tried to get that from Netscape and after about 20 minutes of downloading, got that "illegal" message and was kicked out. Makes a man feel persecuted! I know, ignorance is no excuse, but... Ah, well.

Bleary-eyed.

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From:
Date: 05 Jan 99 - 09:51 PM

Sandy, http://www.winzip.com is where you can get Winzip to unzip zipped files, and to zip unzipped files. No pc should be without it. IIRC it plugs into Netscape, but not MSIE.

ABCPlay2 is a pretty good ABC program, but it doesn't convert into staff notation. There is another one out there that does that, although true fans of ABC pooh pooh this and say that you should learn to read the ABC notation by sight.

My complaint about ABC is that it always seems to slow the tunes down too much, especially when converted into Midi, which ABC2Play lets you do. It also lets you play the tune with different instruments. I usually speed them up, but that could be because of my frantic character.

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 06 Jan 99 - 02:09 AM

Okay, gang. I'll try again. If it doesn't work I'll ask for help offline. Maybe I'll ask Art. He's been playing with a PC for almost a whole year now!

Sandy, the cyberklutz

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: BAZ
Date: 06 Jan 99 - 05:35 PM

Sandy
Never mind the true fans download ABC2WIN and try it out for yourself. If you then agree with t'others you can bin it. Me I think it's great!
Regards Baz.

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: GUEST,wanderer the folkie
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 01:31 PM

dont worry bout the chords...retune your guitar to d.a.d.g.a.d. and listen to the makem and clancy version...youll pick it up quick

Subject: RE: Makem & Clancy's The Mermaid lyrics and music
From: The Pooka
Date: 15 Apr 02 - 02:32 PM

"Peter Kagan and the Wind" is a masterpiece IMHO.

As for Makem & Clancy, they also recorded nice renditions of Gordon Bok's "Hills of Isle au Haut" and "Clear Away in the Morning" -- and "Dillan Bay" which I *think* is Bok's. (?)(DT says recorded by him; did he not write it?)

And as for the thread-title, if anybody *does* wants the Clancified-and-Makemized lyrics for *"The Mermaid"* --- hardly a masterpiece, but an Old Standby ---
Click here
There are various versions in the DT also.

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I closed this thread in an attempt to avoid splitting the discussion. Please post in one of the related threads listed in the crosslinks toward the top of this page.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-