Yo ho, here's a tale
That's near and dear to the hearts of those that sail
'Bout a lighthouse keeper and his mermaid wife
Who joined together for a different life
Yo ho, the winds and waters tell this tale
My father was the keeper of the Eddystone light
He married a mermaid one fine night
From this union there came three
A porpoise and a porgy and the other was me
Yo ho ho, the wind blows free
Oh, for a life on the rolling sea
Late one night, I was trimming the glim
While singing a verse from the evening hymn
A voice from starboard shouted, Ahoy!
And there was my mother, sitting on a buoy
Yo ho ho, the wind blows free
Oh, for a life on the rolling sea
Tell me, what has become of my children three?
My mother she did ask of me
One was exhibited as a talking fish
The other was served on a chafing dish
Yo ho ho, the wind blows free
Oh, for a life on the rolling sea
Then the phosphorous flashed in her seaweed hair
I looked again and me mother wasn't there
A voice came echoing out of the night
To Hell with the keeper of the Eddystone Light
Yo ho ho, the wind blows free
Oh, for a life on the rolling sea