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Silkie
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An earthly nurse sits and sings,
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And aye, she sings by lily wean,
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And little ken I my bairn's father,
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Far less the land where he dwells in.
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For he came on night to her bed feet,
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And a grumbly guest, I'm sure was he,
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Saying "Here am I, thy bairn's father,
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Although I be not comely. "
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"I am a man upon the land,
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I am a silkie on the sea,
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And when I'm far and far frae land,
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My home it is in Sule Skerrie. "
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And he had ta'en a purse of gold
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And he had placed it upon her knee,
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Saying, "Give to me my little young son,
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And take thee up thy nurse's fee. "
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"And it shall come to pass on a summer's day,
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When the sun shines bright on every stane,
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I'll come and fetch my little young son,
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And teach him how to swim the faem. "
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"And ye shall marry a gunner good,
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And a right fine gunner I'm sure he'll be,
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And the very first shot that e'er he shoots
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Will kill both my young son and me. "
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Child #113
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"The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry" is one of numerous tales of
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The Silkies, or seafolk, known to the inhabitants of the Orkney
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Islands and the Hebrides. These enchanted creatures dwell in the
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Depth of the sea, occasionally doffing their seal skins to pass
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On land as mortal men. Legend has it that they then accept human
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Partners, and some families on the islands actually trace their
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Ancestry to such marriages. In more complete versions of the
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Ballad, the Silkie's forecast of the death of himself and his son
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Eventually come to pass. The tune is by Dr. James Waters of
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Columbia University. From "British Ballads and Folk Songs from
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The Joan Baez Songbook. "
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@myth @ballad @love @animal
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See also silkie2
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Filename[ silkie1
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Dc
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===Document boundary
Maggie Rogers - Alaska (Official Video)
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