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When I Was a Fair Maid:
A Song in Two Parts
(c) 1994-2005, Steve Anderson,
Writer.SGAcreative.com
ABOUT THESE SONGS: Back in the early '90s, my favorite folk band, Broadside
Electric, used to perform a traditional song, "When I Was a Fair Maid," about a young woman who passes
herself off as a man to become a sailor, until a woman in London falls in love with the young "man."
Our heroine has no choice but to tell her secret; her would-be lover turns her in, the captain kicks
her off the ship, and she goes back to a life of hats and feathers, still dreaming of life on the open
sea. It's a beautiful song, beautifully performed, but the sheer betrayal in the singer's voice haunted
me until I wrote an alternate ending--and then my filker friends teased me mercilessly about writing
only "half a song," until I finally broke down and wrote a sequel all my own. Enjoy--and do let me
know which version you prefer.
Part One: The Happy Ending
Tune: Trad.,
"When I Was a Fair Maid"
Lyrics, first three verses: Trad.
Lyrics, last verses: Steve Anderson,
Writer.SGAcreative.com
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When I was a fair maid, about seventeen,
I listed in the Navy, for to serve the Queen;
I listed
in the Navy, a sailor lad to stand,
For to hear the cannons rattling and the music so grand.
The music so grand, the music so grand,
For to hear the cannons rattling and the
music so grand.
The officer who listed me was a tall and handsome man;
He said, "You'll make
a sailor lad, so come along my man."
My waist being tall and slender, my fingers long and thin,
Oh,
though very soon they learned me, I soon exceeded them.
I soon exceeded them, I soon
exceeded them,
Oh, though very soon they learned me, I soon exceeded them.
They sent me to bunk, and they sent me to bed;
To lie with the sailor lads I never was afraid.
For taking off my bluecoat, it oft-times made me smile,
For to think I was a sailor and a maiden all
the while.
A maiden all the while, a maiden all the while,
For to think
I was a sailor and a maiden all the while.
They sent me to London-town, to guard the Tower,
And
I think I might be there until my very dying hour,
But a lady fell in love with me; I told her I was
a maid,
And she loved me all the more for it, and with her I'd've stayed.
With her
I'd've stayed, with her I'd've stayed,
Oh, she loved me all the more for it, and with 'er
I'd've stayed.
But she told to me her secret: she'd been a sailor, too,
And she missed her
sailing days, and the ocean's sparkling blue,
So I said unto my captain, "I've wandered far around,
And I think that you'll be pleased to know
another sailor lad I've found."
A sailor
lad I've found, a sailor lad I've found,
Oh, I think that you'll be pleased to know another
sailor lad I've found.
The captain he looked up at her, and he said, "I think he'll do,"
And
so off we went to celebrate with tankards of good brew;
So as long as the Navy needs a man, sailors
we'll remain,
And we're leaving on the morrow for to run the riggin' again.
To run
the riggin' again, to run the riggin' again,
Oh, we're leaving on the morrow for to run
the riggin' again.
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Part Two: The Sequel
Tune: Trad., "When I Was a Fair Maid"
Lyrics: Steve
Anderson, Writer.SGAcreative.com
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When I was a fair maid, I was a sailor man,
Until I turned a lady down who proposed a one-night
stand;
She went unto my captain, and he banned me from the sea,
But I won't go back to my landlubbin'
life, so I've turned to piracy.
I've turned to piracy, I've turned to piracy;
No, I won't go back to my landlubbin' life, so I've turned to piracy.
I'd been a noble
sailor, I became a frightful fiend;
I sailed and fought and made my way up to captain and Pirate Queen;
I dress like a man 'cuz I like it, I'm the terror of the seas!
And anyone who questions me, I soon
have on his knees.
I soon have on his knees, I soon have on his knees,
Anyone who questions me, I soon have on his knees.
After fighting all one morning, we'd won our
hard-earned prize
And were sharing in a cheer, when a cannonball whizzed by;
A Navy ship that patrolled
the lanes had heard our warning shot,
And although I hoped we'd win the day, I feared that we might
not.
I feared that we might not, I feared that we might not;
Although I
hoped we'd win the day, I feared that we might not.
We scrambled to our cannons, and we drew our
trusty swords;
No one could match our fury, not the old Mongolian hordes!
The wind was in our quarter;
we raced in, our cannons roared--
They paled as we put out the plank, and screamed when we swarmed
aboard.
They screamed when we swarmed aboard, they screamed when we swarmed aboard;
Oh, they paled as we put out the plank, and screamed when we swarmed aboard.
The Navy
men fought valiantly while we broke all the rules;
Parry, thrust, knee to the groin, down went the
groaning fools--
I leapt up on the quart'rdeck to behead an officer,
When who should I find at
the point o’ my sword but the one I'd called "Captain, sir!"
The one I'd called "Captain,
sir"; the one I'd called "Captain, sir";
When who should I find at the point o’ my sword
but the one I'd called "Captain, sir."
He stared at me in terror, and I said, "We meet again!";
He shrugged, bewildered, and he said, "I meet so many men--"
I spared his life, but full of rage,
I slashed him through and through,
Saying, "Maybe you'll remember, now that you're a woman, too!"
You're a woman, too; you're a woman, too;
Saying, Maybe you'll remember, now
that you're a woman, too.
He didn't ask forgiveness, and I would've turned him down,
But he’s
all right—and I buy him ale whenever we come to town;
For ever since that day, y'see, that I chopped
off his jewels,
He doesn't ask, and doesn't tell--to hell with the Navy’s rules.
To hell with the Navy’s rules, to hell with the Navy’s rules,
He doesn't ask, and doesn't
tell--to hell with the Navy’s rules.
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