"The Mermaid" is a song about a whaler falling in love with a mermaid, but despairs because the mermaid has fish parts below her waist. It was written by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before ...

and recorded on his album ''I'm So Good That I Don't Have to Brag'', in 1965. In December 1966, "The Mermaid" was published in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine while Silverstein was a regular contributor. Bobby Bare released a version on his 1973 album ''Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies''. It was covered in 2005 by Great Big Sea, who released their version on their CD '' The Hard and the Easy''.

Glenn Yarbrough Glenn Robertson Yarbrough (January 12, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restless ...

also sings a version on his 1966 album ''Live at the Hungry I''.

References

Shel Silverstein CD
Shel Silverstein songs 1965 songs Songs written by Shel Silverstein {{1960s-song-stub