SILKIE



An earthly nurse sits and sings,

And aye, she sings by lily wean,

And little ken I my bairn's father,

Far less the land where he dwells in.



For he came on night to her bed feet,

And a grumbly guest, I'm sure was he,

Saying "Here am I, thy bairn's father,

Although I be not comely."



"I am a man upon the land,

I am a silkie on the sea,

And when I'm far and far frae land,

My home it is in Sule Skerrie."



And he had ta'en a purse of gold

And he had placed it upon her knee,

Saying, "Give to me my little young son,

And take thee up thy nurse's fee."



"And it shall come to pass on a summer's day,

When the sun shines bright on every stane,

I'll come and fetch my little young son,

And teach him how to swim the faem."



"And ye shall marry a gunner good,

And a right fine gunner I'm sure he'll be,

And the very first shot that e'er he shoots

Will kill both my young son and me."



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Child #113

"The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry" is one of numerous tales of

the Silkies, or seafolk, known to the inhabitants of the Orkney

Islands and the Hebrides. These enchanted creatures dwell in the

depth of the sea, occasionally doffing their seal skins to pass

on land as mortal men. Legend has it that they then accept human

partners, and some families on the islands actually trace their

ancestry to such marriages. In more complete versions of the

ballad, the Silkie's forecast of the death of himself and his son

eventually come to pass. The tune is by Dr. James Waters of

Columbia University. From "British Ballads and Folk Songs from

the Joan Baez Songbook."

@myth @ballad @love @animal

see also SILKIE2

filename[ SILKIE1

DC

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