THE LADY-SAILOR[6]

THE LADY-SAILOR^[6]

I’ll go in yon boat, my mother,

Oh yes! in yon boat I’ll go;

I’ll go with the mariner, mother,

And I’ll be a mariner too.

Ay, ay, ay, verdadero,

Ay, ay, con el marinero!

And I’ll be a mariner too!

Mother, there’s no refusing,

What true love demands I must do;

In love there’s no picking and choosing,

So I’ll be a mariner too.

Ay, ay, verdadero,

Ay, ay, con el marinero,

And I’ll be a mariner too!

“I like those Spanish songs,” the stranger said:

“Many I’ve heard and many I have read,

And if you like I’ll give you one in rhyme,

By Gil Vincente of the oldest time,

Which holds its own, and bravely, one may say,

For Spanish sailors sing it to this day.”