Please don't flood my boat

 We shipped it out of Market Quay

In the year of 63

Looking for the catch to lea

The swathes of herring in the sea

We cast our nets and dragged about

Oh and then the first mate did shout

Haul in boys we've hooked a trout

A river fish with a massive snout

But surely this must be a fish king 

For as we hauled him in the thing

Began to thrash and we could see

This river fish belonged in the sea

It was six feet wide in it's girth

And it took six men to hold it's berth

All upon the deck of wood

But this fish crashed through where we stood

And into the hull it went a heaving

Down below where believers were believing

Nothing so big could be landed at sea

Let alone a river trout with a double D

When down on the lower deck where tallow candles burnt

It was in their light that it was not a trout but a mermaid we learnt

And She was huge and heavy and really broke the scales

We knew if we brought her home alive then we'd make so many sales

She was though heavier than Archimedes in the bath

And the hole in the deck she'd made was no cause to laugh

As just then a giant wave came crashing from above 

And filled the hull with sea water and the boat did flood

Oh please don't flood our boat, we pleaded to the mermaid

But she just screamed like a siren and brushed her seaweed braids

But soon she gave us the boot and slipped out through the hole

And yet our boat was flooded and we sang out save our souls

So just remember when you're fishing never land a river trout

For what you think is a fish can be a turnabout

And if she is a mermaid it's best to let her be

At least there's always plenty more fish in the sea