Tone: [Am]
Capo 2nd fret
Verse 1:
Once a [Am]fair and handsome seal-lord lay his [C]foot upon the [G]sand
For to [Am]woo the fisher’s daughter and to [C]claim her marriage [G]hand
I have [C]come in from the [G]ocean, I have [C]come in from the [G]sea
And I’ll [Am]not go to the waves, love, lest ye [C]come a[G]along with [Am]me
Verse 2:
Lord, [Am]long have I loved you as a [C]selkie on the [G]foam
I would [Am]gladly go and wed ye and be [C]lady of your [G]home
But I cannot [C]go in to [G]ocean, I cannot [C]go into the [G]sea
I would [Am]drown beneath you waves love if I [C]went a[G]along with [Am]thee
Verse 3:
Lady, [Am]long have I loved you: I would [C]have you from my [G]wife
I shall [Am]stay upon your shore land though it [C]robs me of my [G]life
I’ll never [C]go back to the [G]ocean, never [C]go back to the [G]sea
I shall [Am]stay one night beside you though it [C]be the [G]death of [Am]me
Verse 4:
Lord I [Am]cannot go and wed thee all to [C]watch my lover [G]die
Since I’ll [Am]not be left a widow I have a [C]plan for us to [G]try
Let us [C]speak with my grand[G]grandmother who’s ever[C]ever dwelt beside the [G]sea
She may [Am]know some trick or treasure that I may [C]wed my [G]fair [Am]selkie
Verse 5:
So they’ve [Am]gone to her grandmother’s little [C]cottage by the [G]sea
To in[Am]inquire how the maiden could be [C]wed to her [G]selkie
For the [C]seal-lord’s watery [G]kingdom’d surely [C]rob her of her [G]breath
But to [Am]stay on land past midnight, that would [C]surely [G]be his [Am]death
Verse 6:
Lord I [Am]know not how to aid you, you may [C]never live on [G]shore
For your [Am]kind to live past dawning has n[C]never been seen [G]before
But my [C]mother had a [G]seal coat that she [C]buried ‘neath a [G]tree
For she [Am]told me any wearer would be[C]become a [G]fair sel[Am]selkie
Verse 7:
So they’ve [Am]journeyed farther inland though the [C]seal-lord’s getting [G]weak
And she’s [Am]shouldering a shovel to unearth that [C]thing they [G]seek
And at the [C]rising of the [G]full moon, under[C]underneath the elfin [G]oak
She’s [Am]unearthed that very treasure of which her [C]grand[G]grandmother [Am]spoke
Verse 8:
So just be[Am]before the stroke of midnight they have [C]made it back to [G]sea
And she’s [Am]donned that magic seal-coat and be[C]become a maid sel[G]selkie
Now they’ve [C]gone into the o[G]ocean, hand in [C]hand into the [G]sea
[Am]She has gone along, a fair seal-[C]seal-bride for [G]her sel[Am]selkie