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09 Mar 04 - 02:23 PM (#1132279) Subject: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,Sara Lorimer I have a half-remembered song from my childhood running through my head. It begins: Oh, once I heard a mermaid sing As I sailed this sea, this deep blue sea Once I heard a mermaid sing As I sailed this briny ocean It's sung by a cabin boy, resisting temptation. I remember bits and pieces of other verses, but never knew the title or its origins. It might be from the 1970's, or it might be centuries old, or I might've made it up without realizing it. Do any of you recognize it, or have suggestions as to where I might find it? I've tried Google, searching this site, rec.music.folk, and The Gunroom. |
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09 Mar 04 - 02:36 PM (#1132294) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: ced2 Was the cabin boy called Roger by any chance? Sorry! |
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09 Mar 04 - 02:36 PM (#1132295) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,MMario no luck at Levy |
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09 Mar 04 - 02:39 PM (#1132300) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,MMario or the Bodlian |
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09 Mar 04 - 04:49 PM (#1132422) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: Charley Noble This is a mystery to me. Charley Noble |
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10 Mar 04 - 11:15 AM (#1133081) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: EBarnacle If the song is the one I believe it is, it is cast in the genre of the typical mermaid song, in which the youth is enticed to marry a mermaid at the bottom of the sea and comes back, telling his compatriots of the wonderful life down there. |
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10 Mar 04 - 12:18 PM (#1133126) Subject: ADD: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,KB My sis & I used to sing this: O once I heard a mermaid sing across the sea, the deep blue sea o once I heard a mermaid sing across the briny ocean o cabin boy come and play with me across the sea, the deep blue sea o cabin boy come and play with me across the briny ocean o no pretty maid I can't follow you across the sea, the deep blue sea o no pretty maid I can't follow you across the briny ocean with a flick of her tail she was off and away across the sea, the deep blue sea with a flick of her tail she was off and away across the briny ocean and now I am a captain grand across the sea, the deep blue sea and now I am a captain grand across the briny ocean and sometimes I wish I had followed her across the sea, the deep blue sea and sometimes I wish I had followed her across the briny ocean (might be some bits missing - its about 30 years since we used to sing it....) KRis |
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10 Mar 04 - 12:27 PM (#1133132) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: MMario Thank you KRis! What's the tune like? |
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10 Mar 04 - 10:10 PM (#1133526) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,Sara Yes! KRis, that's it! I remember slightly different lyrics, and bits of another verse or two, but it's obviously the same song. I don't suppose you know any more about it? I remember the tune, but I'm trying to find who wrote it. |
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10 Mar 04 - 10:42 PM (#1133543) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: Stilly River Sage Finding who wrote a song like that might be pretty tough. You're lucky you found the words! But as a starting place, you might find some old poetry books and look in the index of first lines. Sometimes poems are put to music, and sometimes music is treated like poetry. (I have several examples of both instances around here). SRS |
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11 Mar 04 - 11:34 AM (#1133926) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,KB Glad I could help. Will try to write down the tune & find some way of representing it. Will also email my sis and see if she can tell me where she learnt it (I learnt it from her) - I imagine she must have learnt it at school. Kris |
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11 Mar 04 - 12:04 PM (#1133949) Subject: RE: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST Kris - If you are capable of writing down the tune - you should be able to manage ABC -- see The Mudcat ABC tune Guide I'm always willing to transcribe sheet music scanned and e-mailed or snail mailed to me as well. MMario |
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05 Nov 09 - 10:01 AM (#2760112) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST Miss Take - England We sang this song circa 1966, at primary school. It was in a collection of songs called 'Time and Tune' a schools programme, run by the BBC. There was also 'Singing Together' for the older kids, and this included timeless classics like 'Gossip Joan,''Michael Finnigan' and 'Casey Jones'. Happy Days! |
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26 Jan 10 - 01:07 PM (#2821806) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,Richard Chamberlain We sang this song in kindergarten in England in about 1962. I'm sure it came from the BBC as one reviewer mentions. We had an end-of-term show in the local village hall and I got to sing it solo. Those were the days! From what I remember these are the first two verses: Oh once I heard a mermaid Sing As I sailed the sea, the dee-ep blue sea Oh once I heard a mermaid sing As I sailed the briny ocean Oh-h cabin boy come and play with me As I swim the sea, the de-ep blue sea Oh cabin boy come and play with me As I swim the briny ocean That's all I can remember, but it brings back very fond memories! |
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26 Jan 10 - 01:59 PM (#2821847) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST, Richard Chamberlain Here are all the lyrics I can remember, with the tune, starting with Middle C. Here is a link to a keyboard you can try the tune on. Middle C is the eighth key from the left: http://www.apronus.com/music/flashpiano.htm Oh-h once I heard a-a mermaid sing c-d e c c d-e f-d d As I sailed the sea, the-e dee-ep blu-e sea g f e c c d-e f-e d-c b Oh-h once I heard a-a mermaid sing c-d e c c d-e f-d d As I sailed the briny ocean g f e c d-b c-c (Same tune for all the verses below) Oh-h cabin boy come and play with me As I swim the sea, the de-ep blue sea Oh cabin boy come and play with me As I swim the briny ocean Oh pretty maid I can't follow you As I sail the sea, the dee-ep blue sea O pretty maid I can't follow you As I sail the briny ocean With a flick of her tail she was gone away As she swam the sea, the de-ep blue sea With a flick of her tail she was gone away As I swim the briny ocean And now I am a Captain grand As I sail the sea, the dee-ep blue sea And now I am a Captain grand As I sail the briny ocean And I sometimes wish I had followed her As I sailed the sea, the dee-ep blue sea And I sometimes wish I had followed her As I sailed the briny ocean MIDI from Leeneia: Click to play (joeweb) |
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27 Jan 10 - 10:10 AM (#2822556) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: Charley Noble Nice to have another song request tidied up. This one only took six years! Charley Noble |
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03 Dec 11 - 12:04 PM (#3267860) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: Jim Dixon Tidied up? I beg to differ. We still don't know who wrote it, or the official title, or where it was published, or whether anybody ever recorded it. |
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23 Oct 16 - 02:09 PM (#3816115) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST i remember this. my son sang it at his school when he was about six. late seventies, |
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04 Mar 17 - 07:47 PM (#3842894) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,Doug I also sang this song in England in the late sixties in first grade. I remember the lyrics that the others also wrote but I also remember the mermaid saying "we can ride away on a dolphins' back as we sail the sea the deep blue sea |
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26 Aug 17 - 10:44 AM (#3873736) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: GUEST,Edward Lucas I sang this in Ide primary school in Devon in 1967 |
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26 Aug 17 - 11:18 AM (#3873742) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: leeneia I have made a MIDI of the tune as posted by R. Chamberlain above, and I'm sending it to Joe for posting. It will work better with Internet Explorer, I think. I had to make some guesses as to note times, but I think it's about right. MIDI from Leeneia: Click to play (joeweb) |
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26 Aug 17 - 08:38 PM (#3873796) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: the mermaid and the cabin boy From: Joe Offer Leeneia's MIDI posted - see link just above. Has anybody found a printed source for the lyrics and melody of this song? It was part of the BBC Time and Tune series. |