The Mermaid and the Swallow

Ian Bell ©2003


In Bristol, just before the war, the tankers loomed along the shore

And I would hang about the door of a shop down by the quay

It was there, when I was just a lad, I took the trade I've always had

And where the hand of my first master made its mark on me


The Union Jack, the rose and crown, the mermaid and the swallow

A dagger and an anchor, and a cock upon the knee


And when the bombers droned above we inked the names of the girls they loved

In hearts, upon the hearts of oak who'd soon put out to sea


I was a little older when the war was over, even then

The Navy still had need of men and so I signed aboard

In engine rooms, and on the grates I plied my trade among my mates

Gave them the mark they wanted most for what they could afford


The Union Jack, the rose and crown, the mermaid and the swallow

A dagger and an anchor and a cock upon the knee


And down there, in the oily dark on arms and backs I left my mark

Forever etched in indigo on sailor boys at sea

And then one day I came to land, across the western ocean

I shipped out of Halifax, and sailed the inland seas

And sometimes when I’d step ashore I used to take the notion

That I was not as young a man as once I used to be.


And now the canvas I sail under promises a "World of Wonder"

Step right up, I'll make my mark at a price that you can pay

In the dying days of August, captain in a sea of sawdust

But the fancies of a sailor's life are out of style today


The Union Jack, the rose and crown, the mermaid and the swallow

A dagger and an anchor, and a cock upon the knee


From the awning of my pitch the seaway's like a muddy ditch

As from this country fair I watch ships gliding towards the sea


The Union Jack, the rose and crown, the mermaid and the swallow

A dagger and an anchor, and a cock upon the knee


But where my shirt sleeve meets my skin I see a map of where I've been

And where the hand of my first master made its mark on me