Here's a version posted by Sandy Paton in the Breast of Glass thread. Deckman added the "lobster" verse.

Thread #38681   Message #632758
Posted By: Sandy Paton
22-Jan-02 - 01:37 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Breast of Glass
Subject: Lyr Add: MARY ANN


Song titled (I think) "Mary Ann." From Maud Karpeles (possibly Creighton?) Nova Scotia collection. Recorded years ago by Ian & Sylvia. I first heard it from Happy Traum at a party at Dave Van Ronk's place in New York back in the mid 50s. Words I can recall are:

Fare you well, my own true love,
Fare you well for awhile.
My ship is a-waiting and the wind blows high (free?)
And I am bound away to the sea, Mary Ann.
And I am bound away to the sea, Mary Ann.

Your company, your company,
Your company unto me,
It makes me feel, when we're apart,
That every day is three, my dear Mary Ann.
That every day is three, my dear Mary Ann.

A lobster boiling in the pot
A blue fish on the hook
Their sufferings long, but it's nothing like
The ache I bear for you, my dear, Mary Ann

I wish my breast was made of glass,
Wherein you might behold
The secret of my own true love
In letters writ in gold, my dear Mary Ann.
In letters writ in gold, my dear Mary Ann.


And there were probably other verses, including one about the lobster boiling in the pot, which I never sang. Any of you remember this? It has a lovely tune! I'm just too freakin' lazy to climb the stairs to check the source. Been a long and hard day!

Sandy