G
Motherwell’s Minstrelsy, p. 93.
1
‘I have seven ships upon the sea,
Laden with the finest gold,
And mariners to wait us upon;
All these you may behold.
2
‘And I have shoes for my love’s feet,
Beaten of the purest gold,
And lined wi the velvet soft,
To keep my love’s feet from the cold.
3
‘O how do you love the ship?’ he said,
‘Or how do you love the sea?
And how do you love the bold mariners
That wait upon thee and me?’
4
‘O I do love the ship,’ she said,
‘And I do love the sea;
But woe be to the dim mariners,
That nowhere I can see!’
5
They had not sailed a mile awa,
Never a mile but one,
When she began to weep and mourn,
And to think on her little wee son.
6
‘O hold your tongue, my dear,’ he said,
‘And let all your weeping abee,
For I’ll soon show to you how the lilies grow
On the banks of Italy.’
7
They had not sailed a mile awa,
Never a mile but two,
Until she espied his cloven foot,
From his gay robes sticking thro.
8
They had not sailed a mile awa,
Never a mile but three,
When dark, dark, grew his eerie looks,
And raging grew the sea.
9
They had not sailed a mile awa,
Never a mile but four,
When the little wee ship ran round about,
And never was seen more.