Silverstein's passion for music was clear early on as he studied for a while at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. As a songwriter, Silverstein kept a low profile but cast a long shadow. He tended to shun publicity and even photographers. Nonetheless, his musical output included many songs which were hits for other artists. Most notably, he wrote the music and lyrics for "A Boy Named Sue" that was performed by Johnny Cash (for which he won a Grammy in 1970); "One's on the Way" (which was a hit for Loretta Lynn), and "The Unicorn Song" which, despite having nothing to do with Ireland nor Irish culture, became the signature piece for The Irish Rovers in 1968 and is popular in pubs all over the world to this day. He wrote the lyrics and music for most of the Dr. Hook songs, including "Cover of the Rolling Stone", "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball", "Sylvia's Mother", and the cautionary song about VD, "Don't Give a Dose to the One You Love Most". He also wrote many of the songs performed by Bobby Bare, including "Marie Laveau", "Rosalie's Good Eats Cafe", "The Mermaid", "The Winner", and "Tequila Sheila". The song "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan",] recorded in 1979 by Marianne Faithfull and later featured in the films Montenegro and Thelma & Louise, was also by Silverstein.
Mermaid
Shel Silverstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was a lad in a fishing town, an old man said to me,
"You can spend your life, your jolly life, a-sailing on the sea.
You can search the world for pretty girls 'til your eyes grow weak and dim,
But don't go swimmin' with a mermaid, son, if you don't know how to swim!
'Cause her hair is green as sea-weed,
Her lips are blue and pale.
You can love that girl with all your heart,
But you'll only love the upper part;
You will NOT like the tail!
I signed on to a whalin' ship, and my very first day at sea,
I spied a mermaid in the waves, a-reachin' out to me.
"Come live with me in the sea," said she, "and down on the ocean's floor.
I'll show you a million wond'rous sights you've never seen before!"
So I jumped on in and she pulled me down, down to her seaweed bed.
A pillow she made of tortoise shells, and placed beneath my head.
She fed me shrimp and caviar from a silvery dish.
She was just my taste (down to her waist), but the rest of her was fish!
Her hair was green as seaweed.
Her lips were blue and pale.
Her face it was a work of art,
But I only gave her half my heart,
'Cause tho I loved the upper part,
I did NOT like the tail!
And then one day when I looked up, I saw a sailin' ship,
And I met the stare of a millionaire out on a fishing trip.
A diamond ring he tied on a string and lowered it down to her,
And my love divine, she went for the line and went for the usual lure!
So I sighed in the rolling tide, and I cried to the clams and the whales
How I missed her hair and her seagreen eyes; I missed the shine of her scales.
Just then her sister swam on by, and set my heart a-whirl --
For her upper part was an ugly old fish, but the bottom half was GIRL!
Her toes are round and rosey!
Her legs are slim and pale!
Her face might not be a work of art,
But I love that girl with all my heart.
And I don't give a damn about the upper part --
That's how I end my tale! ('Cause now I'm getting tail!)
The song "Mermaid" by Shel Silverstein is a humorous and playful take on the mythical creature. The story is told from the perspective of a man who, as a young boy, dreamed about having a mermaid for a girlfriend. As he grows older, he joins a whaling ship and eventually finds himself face-to-face with a real mermaid. She invites him to live with her in the sea and shows him all the wonders of her underwater world. However, as much as he loves the upper part of her body, he cannot bring himself to love the bottom half as well, which is a fish tail.
As the story progresses, the man watches as a diamond ring is lowered down to the mermaid by a millionaire on a fishing trip. The mermaid falls for the lure and leaves him heartbroken. He then meets the mermaid's sister, who has a human-like bottom half and falls deeply in love with her. In the end, he humorously declares "that's how I end my tale! ('Cause now I'm getting tail!)".
The song is a lighthearted take on the myth of the mermaid and the idea of falling in love with one. Silverstein cleverly weaves humor into the story, poking fun at the idea of a man loving the upper half of a fish-like creature. The song is also a commentary on love, attraction, and acceptance, and how we should love someone for who they are, both physically and emotionally.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a lad in a fishing town, an old man said to me,
A wise old man advised me that while sailing, I might run across pretty women from across the world to flirt with, but I mustn't go swimming with a mermaid because I may not be a proficient swimmer.
'Cause her hair is green as seaweed,
The hair of a mermaid is like the color of seaweed and may be made of seaweed too.
I signed on to a whalin' ship, and my very first day at sea,
On my first day at sea, I joined a whaling ship.
And my love divine, she went for the line and went for the usual lure!
A millionaire angler made a diamond engagement ring a bait on a fishing hook, the mermaid went for it and got caught.
So I sighed in the rolling tide and I cried to the clams and the whales
I lamented the loss of my love to the sea creatures around me.
Her toes are round and rosey!
The tail of the mermaid, which used to be a fish-like lower part, had changed into the lovely legs and feet of a woman.
But I love that girl with all my heart.
Despite this change, I still love her so much.
And I don't give a damn about the upper part -- that's how I end my tale!
The artist is fine with the situation as he is now getting 'tail'. In other words, the artist is contented with the current state of his relationship with the mermaid.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tiny Dancer
Oh, I noticed! My father introduced me to Shel back in the '70s via Bobby Bare's "Lullabies, Legends, and Lies" album. From there, I was hooked. It was years later that I found out he also wrote poetry books for kids (and much later before I discovered his Playboy magazine life!). So, I'm kind of the opposite to your intro :-) If you're curious, I have a Shel playlist on my channel I'm rather proud of. Thanks, again, for sharing this rare treat!
Florence
Shel was on another level! A Genius and a legend.
Ian S
That was great, thanks for sharing! I still prefer Great Big Sea's take on it, even though they changed it a tad bit. I just think their version has better timing and delivery of the joke at the end.
Tiny Dancer
Never heard Shel do this one himself, thanks so much!
peggy odell
Thank you so much for posting this! I love him!
Leslie Korshak
Michael, thank you so much for this - the picture's from his houseboat and this memory is priceless...
aphternoon
Interesting that the two versions end with different lines - "And that's how I end my tale" vs "'Cause that's how I get my tail"
SUSHI
I have been looking for this. Thank you.
Michael Gudnæs
Well he did, and please note that the text is longer than in these later versions, which for some reason tend to cut out the verse with the sailingship and the diamond ring and the great rime 'water - caught her' !
agatha fry
And yet still, nobody likes reverse centaur.