One Friday morning we set sail,
And when not far from land,
We all espied a fair merrymaid*,
With a comb and a glass in her hand, her hand her hand,
And a comb and glass in her hand.
While the raging seas did roar,
And the stormy winds did blow,
And we jolly sailor boys were sitting up aloft
And the landlubbers lying down below, below, below,
And the landlubbers lying down below.
The up starts the mate of our gallant ship,
And a bold young man was he,
Oh I have a wife in fair Padstow town,
But I fear a widow she will be, will be, will be,
But I fear a widow she will be.
And up starts the cook of our gallant ship,
And a young man was he,
I have a sweetheart in fair Lanson** Town,
But I fear she will be a weeping for me, for me, for me,
But I fear she will be a weeping for me.
And up spoke the little cabin boy,
An a pretty little boy was he,
Oh, I am more sorry for my daddy and my mammy,
Who will both be a-weeping for me, for, me for me,
Who will both be a-weeping for me.
Then three times around went our gallant ship,
And three times around went she,
For the ant of a long boat we all went down,
And she sank to the bottom of the sea, the sea, the sea
And Sank to the bottom of the sea.
* Merrymaid – Cornish Dialect for mermaid
** i.e.Launceston
Download pdf of music and lyrics.
Notes
Sea shanties are universal to maritime communities and lyrics are often modified to refer to local places and people see morgannow project
Ralph Dunstan, Lyver Canow Kernewek_The Cornish Songbook. (London, Reid Bros, 1929). p 57
Francis James Child. English and Scottish Popular Ballads part 1 (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and Co. 1882) Ballad no. 289. Child gives gives 6 different versions of the lyrics several quite close to the Cornish version