We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Let The Mermaid Flirt With Me (J. Hurt)

from The Last Shot Got Him by Scott Ainslie

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

Mississippi John Hurt took the music from Jimmie Rogers "Waitin' For A Train" and lyrics from W.E. Myer (of Lonesome Ace records, the byline of which was "No Yodelling") and fashioned this tune in early 1929 before the Great Depression that crashed and took down his blossoming music career with it.

lyrics

Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me (Myer/Rogers/Hurt)

Blues out on the ocean, blues all in the air.
Can’t stay here much longer, I got no steamship fare.
When my earthly trials are over,
cast my body out in the sea.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.

My wife controls my happy home,
a sweetheart I can not find.
The only thing I can call my own,
is a troubled and a worried mind.
When my earthly trials are over,
cast my body out in the sea.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.

I do not work for pleasure,
earthly peace I’ll see no more.
The only reason I work at all, is
drive the world from my door.
When my earthly trials are over,
cast my body out in the sea.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.

Blues all in my body, my sweetheart’s forsaken me.
If I ever see her face again,
I have to swim across the sea.
When my earthly trials are over,
cast my body out in the sea.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.

Blues out on the ocean, blues all in the air.
Can’t stay here no longer, I got no steamship fare.
When my earthly trials are over,
cast my body out in the sea.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.
Save all the undertaker’s bills,
let the mermaids flirt with me.

credits

from The Last Shot Got Him, track released September 22, 2014

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Scott Ainslie image

Scott Ainslie Brattleboro, Vermont

A long history with older black blues and gospel players in the mid-South marks Ainslie's work deeply. He transcribed all of Robert Johnson's recorded songs for "Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads" (Hal Leonard, 1992) and has a teaching DVD on Johnson's music. A fine songwriter with a social conscience and a belief in the power of music to move and inspire, Ainslie's voice is a great force for good! ... more

contact / help

Contact Scott Ainslie

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this track or account

If you like Scott Ainslie, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now