Silkie

<br>An earthly nurse sits and sings,<br>And aye she sings a lily wean -<br>&quot;Little ken I my bairn`s father,<br>Far less the land that he dwells in.&quot;<br><br>For he`s come one night to her bed`s foot<br>And a grumly guest I`m sure he`d be,<br>Saying, &quot;Here am I, thy bairn`s father,<br>Although I be not comely.<br><br>&quot;I am a man upon the land,<br>I am a silkie in the sea,<br>And when I`m far and far from land,<br>My home it is the sule skerrie.&quot;<br><br>And he has ta`en a purse of gold,<br>And he had placed it upon her knee,<br>Saying, &quot;Give to me my little young son<br>And take thee up thy nurse`s fee.<br><br>&quot;And I will come one summer`s day<br>When the sun shine`s bright on every stane,<br>I`ll come and fetch my little young son,<br>And teach him how to swim the faem.<br><br>&quot;And ye shall marry a gunner bold,<br>And a right fine gunner I`m sure he`ll be,<br>And the very first shot that ever he shoots<br>Will kill both my young son and me.&quot;