"The Merrymaid's Lament"
Lyrics: Maureen O'Brien, July 1993
To the tune of: "The Men-an-Tol Waltz", copyright 1991 Charles de Lint

We were once merrymaids who were reckless and free.
We had pleasure and leisure in lands under sea.
We were careless and daring.  We danced on the land
Till the sun rose and turned us to rocks on the sand.

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Rise up moon, rise up tide, rise up ocean in flood
Rise above us and make us once more flesh and blood.
And we'll ride the white horses away from the shore,
And we'll never go dancing on land anymore.

We were once merrymaids whom no man left alone,
But no merryman ever embraced a cold stone.
And no waves kiss our scales as our days turn to years --
While rain runs down our faces in place of our tears.

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We were once merrymaids. Now we're hard ugly shapes.
Human-schools eddy 'round us, then off again traipse.
While our kin dance with seals in a slow spiral climb,
We're kept time's captives here, where our steps once kept time.

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