The Maiden and the Selkie
Heather Dale Lyrics

Once a fair and handsome Seal Lord
There was a Seal Lord who was both fair and handsome

Lay his foot upon the sand
He came out of the sea and put his foot on the sand

For to woo the Fisher's daughter
He wanted to court the Fisher's daughter

And to claim her marriage hand
He wanted to propose marriage to her

'I have come in from the ocean
The Seal Lord spoke to the Fisher's daughter and said

I have come in from the sea
He wants her to come with him back to the ocean

And I'll not go to the waves, love,
He won't go back into the ocean without her

Lest ye come along with me.'
because he is in love with her.

'Lord, long have I loved you
The Fisher's daughter responded to the Seal Lord,

As a Selkie on the foam
She has loved him as a mythical creature who lives in the ocean

I would gladly go and wed ye
She wants to marry him

And be lady of your home
And live in his kingdom

But I cannot go into the ocean
She tells him she cannot survive in the ocean

I cannot go into the sea
She will drown in the ocean

I would drown beneath the waves, love,
If she goes along with him to the ocean

'Lady, long have I loved you
The Seal Lord still loving her

I would have you for my wife
He still wants her to marry him

I will stay upon your shoreland
He offers to stay on land

Though it robs me of my life
Even though it may be fatal for him

I will stay one night beside you
He is willing to spend one night with her on land

Never go back to the sea
He won't leave the land and go back to the ocean

I will stay and be thy husband
He wants to be her husband

Though it be the death of me.'
Even if it costs him his life

Dae dae dae da da dae dae...
This line represents the instrumental portion of the song and has no specific meaning.

'Lord, I cannot go and wed thee
The Fisher's daughter has a realistic view and responds,

All to watch my lover die
She cannot watch him die if she joins him in the ocean

Since I'll not be left a widow
She doesn't want to be left alone

I have a plan for us to try
She has an idea to make things work out for them

Let us speak with my grandmother
They both decide to ask for help from her grandmother

Who has ever dwelt beside the sea
Because she has grown up near the sea, she may have some wisdom to share

She may know some trick or treasure
The Fisher's daughter thinks her grandmother can help them

That I may wed my fair Selkie.'
So that she can marry the Seal Lord

So they've gone to her grandmother's
They go to her grandmother's house

Little cottage by the sea
The grandmother lives in a cottage near the ocean

To inquire how a maiden
They ask how the Fisher's daughter can marry the Seal Lord

Can be wed to her Selkie
So that he won't die in the process

For the Selkie's watery kingdom
Because the Seal Lord cannot survive on land

Would surely rob her of her breath
If she goes into the ocean with him

But to stay on land past midnight
He can only stay on land until midnight

It would surely be his death.
It is fatal for him to stay on the land past midnight

'Lord, I know not how to aid you
The grandmother says she does not know how to help

You may never live on shore
It may not be possible for him to live on the shore

For your kind to live 'til dawning
Seal Lords are not supposed to live on land until morning

It has ne'er been seen before
It has never happened before

But my mother had a seal coat
The grandmother recalls her mother had a special coat

That she buried 'neath the tree
She buried it under a tree

And she told me that its wearer
She tells them the coat will transform the person

Would become a fair Selkie.'
Into a mythical creature, just like the Seal Lord

So they've journeyed farther inland
They travel more into the land

Though the Seal Lord's getting weak
The Seal Lord is getting weaker

And she's shouldering the shovel
The Fisher's daughter carries the shovel

To unearth the thing they seek
So that they can dig up the coat

At the rising of the fullmoon
They do this when the moon is full

Underneath the elfen oak
It is buried beneath an oak tree

She has unearthed that faery treasure
The Fisher's daughter digs up the magical coat

Of which her grandmother spoke.
The coat that will turn her into a mythical creature

Just before the stroke of midnight
They found the coat just before midnight

They have made it back to sea
They return back to the ocean

And she has donned the magic seal coat
The Fisher's daughter wears the magical coat

And become a maid Selkie
It turns her into a mythical creature just like the Seal Lord

Now they've gone into the ocean
They go back to the ocean together

Hand in hand into the sea
They go into the ocean holding hands

She has gone along
She goes with him

A fair seal bride for a Selkie.
She becomes his bride and they live together in the ocean as mythical creatures

Dae dae dae da da dae dae...
This line represents the instrumental portion of the song and has no specific meaning.