When I walked upon the shore, when I walked upon the sand
In the place that stands between the land and sea,
I met a mermaid fair, with seashells in her hair,
And this is what the mermaid sang to me.
"You can walk upon the shore, you can walk upon the sand
In the place that stands between the land and sea,
But you cannot ever ride on the turning of the tide
And you cannot sing a dolphin song like me."
So I stood upon the shore and I stood upon the sand
In between the place that stands between the land and sea
And I answered "Mermaid fair with the seashells in your hair,
Your singing is quite beautiful to me."
"Is there any chance at all, could it any way befall,
That I could come and see the place you live?
For I would love to see all the treasures of the sea,
And I've a shiny coin that I can give."
Then the mermaid sang to me, to the rhythm of the sea,
In the place that stands between the sea and shore,
"There is gold beneath the sea and it all belongs to me
And I really have no need for one coin more."
"But little human child with your spirit free and wild,
You do not have to pay to see my land.
You only have to ask and I'll undertake the task,
Come over here and take me by the hand..."
So I walked across the shore and I stepped across the sand
Until the water reached up to my knees.
Then the mermaid to me said "It is time to duck your head..."
Which was when I heard my mother calling "Please....."
"Go no further from the shore, go no deeper in the sea,
Don't you understand the danger you are in?
You may think that you are brave, but once lost beneath the waves,
I fear no one could fetch you back again!"
Well I quickly turned my head at the words my mother said
And I wanted to explain that she was wrong.
It was seconds, no time more, that I gazed across the shore,
But in that time the mermaid had quite gone.
That was sixty years ago, but still every day I go
To the place that stands between the land and sea,
And I've looked for her each day since the day she went away,
And it sometime seems the water sings to me.
"Little human, child no more, do you still wait on the shore,
In the place that stands between the land and sea?
Though I once was turned away, I'll return for you some day,
And then, my dear, such wonders you will see..."