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The Wave-Soaked Maiden

Written by Ginny Di

LYRICS

CHORUS

Beware the wave-soaked maidens
To whom the depths belong
If you sail upon their waters
Then you won't sail for long


VERSE 1

One gray day, so thick with fog
The clouds hung heavy and low
A fisherman out on the waves
Hauled his nets up from below

Tangled up amongst the cod
And bass and brill and bream
Was something strange and scaly
Like a vision from a dream

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
Vision from a dream


CHORUS


VERSE 2

he had fins where her feet should be
Her eyes were dark as a storm
The siren that he caught upon
That gray and fateful mourn

Behind her lips, her teeth was sharp
Much sharper than his knives
She said to him, "Come closer, sir
And I'll eat you alive"

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
I'll eat you alive


CHORUS


VERSE 3

He trembled as she gazed at him
Her eyes were hungry and cold
She was a sight both terrible
And lovely to behold

"Please don't feast upon my flesh"
He begged her to forgive
"If I return you to the sea
Then won't you let me live?"

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
Won't you let me live?


CHORUS


VERSE 4

She looked at him upon his knees
And thought him a pitiful sight
She told him, "I will let you go
But quickly take your flight"

"If ever you should drop your nets
Again amongst these waves
Then me and all my sisters here
Will drag you to your grave"

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
Drag you to your grave


CHORUS


VERSE 5

A fortnight hence he tossed and turned
Her eyes had driven him mad
And when he slept, all he could see
Was the lady's seaweed clad (seaweed clad)

Desperate for just one glimpse more
He took back to the deep
And sure enough, she came to him
With promises to keep

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
Promises to keep


CHORUS


VERSE 6

She said, "Good sir, I warned you once
That you could never return
I should have know right then and there
Your kind will never learn" (never learn)

When he saw her sisters rise
He knew that he was damned
And now his bones are fathoms deep
All buried in the sand

La-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da
Buried in the sand


CHORUS x 2

Tags:

sea shanty, modern

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We acknowledge the Gadigal and Bidjigal people of the Eora nation, upon whose lands we gather and sing.
We acknowledge sovereignty was never ceded. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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Numerous photos by Nick Ryden 

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