This song was from Bobby Bare's 1973 "Lullabies, Legends and Lies" where Bobby covered a
number of Shel Silverstein's songs. The intro is sung over chords which are held
until the next chord. Play a simple walk-up run from the open E, F# and G# on the sixth
string to the A chord to begin each verse. Alternate bass notes add a lot as well. The Db
chord is played as a partial passing chord sod novices can just use this - (x-x-x-1-2-1)
then slide up to the regular open D chord. There are a few chords that are held for emphasis
at the end of each verse, but those will be clear to those that are familiar with the song.
[Intro]
A D A
When I was a lad in a fishin' town, an old man said to me
D A D A B E
"You can spend your life, your jolly life, just sailin' on the sea
A D
You can search the world for pretty girls 'til your eyes are weak and dim
D A E A
But don't go swimmin' with a mermaid, son, if you don't know how to swim!
[Verse 1]
A D A
Well, I signed on to a whalin' ship, and my very first day at sea
D A D A B E
I seen a mermaid in the waves, a-reachin' out to me
A D
"Come live with me in the sea," said she, "and down on the ocean's floor
D A E A
I'll show you a million wond'rous things that you've never seen before!"
[Verse 2]
A D A
Over I jumped and she pulled me down, down to her seaweed bed
D A D A B E
Where a pillow made of tortoise shells, she placed beneath my head
A D
She fed me shrimps and caviar upon a silver dish
D A E A
From her head to her waste she was just my taste, but the rest of her was fish!
[Chorus]
D A
And her hair was green as seaweed
D A
And her skin was blue and pale
D A
And her face it was a work of art
D A
And I loved that girl with all of my heart
A B Db D
But I only loved the upper part
A E A
I did not love the tail!
[Verse 3]
A D A
Then one day she swam away, and I sang to the clams and the whales
D A D A B E
How I missed her fins, and her seaweed hair, and the silvery shine of her scales
A D
Then her sister swam by, and set my heart a-whirl
D A E A
'Cuz her upper part was an ugly fish, but the bottom part was GIRL!
[Chorus]
D A
And her toes are pink and rosey
D A
And her knees are soft and pale
D A
And her legs they are - a work of art
D A
And I love that girl with all my heart
A B Db D
I don't give a damn about the upper part
A E A
And that's how I end my tale!