The Maiden and the Selkie

Once a fair and handsome Seal Lord
Lay his foot upon the sand
For to woo the Fisher's daughter
And to claim her marriage hand
'I have come in from the ocean
I have come in from the sea
And I'll not go to the waves, love,
Lest ye come along with me.'

'Lord, long have I loved you
As a Selkie on the foam
I would gladly go and wed ye
And be lady of your home
But I cannot go into the ocean
I cannot go into the sea
I would drown beneath the waves, love,
If I went along with thee.'

'Lady, long have I loved you
I would have you for my wife
I will stay upon your shoreland
Though it robs me of my life
I will stay one night beside you
Never go back to the sea
I will stay and be thy husband
Though it be the death of me.'

Dae dae dae da da dae dae...

'Lord, I cannot go and wed thee
All to watch my lover die
Since I'll not be left a widow
I have a plan for us to try
Let us speak with my grandmother
Who has ever dwelt beside the sea
She may know some trick or treasure
That I may wed my fair Selkie.'

So they've gone to her grandmother's
Little cottage by the sea
To inquire how a maiden
Can be wed to her Selkie
For the Selkie's watery kingdom
Would surely rob her of her breath
But to stay on land past midnight
It would surely be his death.

'Lord, I know not how to aid you
You may never live on shore
For your kind to live 'til dawning
It has ne'er been seen before
But my mother had a seal coat
That she buried 'neath the tree
And she told me that its wearer
Would become a fair Selkie.'

Dae dae dae da da dae dae...

So they've journeyed farther inland
Though the Seal Lord's getting weak
And she's shouldering the shovel
To unearth the thing they seek
At the rising of the fullmoon
Underneath the elfen oak
She has unearthed that faery treasure
Of which her grandmother spoke.

Just before the stroke of midnight
They have made it back to sea
And she has donned the magic seal coat
And become a maid Selkie
Now they've gone into the ocean
Hand in hand into the sea
She has gone along
A fair seal bride for a Selkie.

Dae dae dae da da dae dae...


(by Heather Dale)