The Old Men of the Shells

[Verse 1]
As I roved out on a Shrovetide Eve
Among the bramble and the cloudberry
It's then I heard a melody
Blowing over the Northern Sea
The song of the old men of the shells

[Verse 2]
The old men of the shells, my boys
The old men of the shells
I left the ones who love me well
To find my home in the heathery dell
And follow the old men of the shells

[Verse 3]
I made my bed so shallow
Among the marigold and the marshmallow
It's then I heard the old men say
"Why deny the sea her prey?
Come lie with the old men of the shells"

[Verse 4]
So deeper, deeper I found my home
Among the samphire, among the foam
The curlew call my curfew bell
Brings me to my bed of pearl
To lie with the old men of the shells

[Verse 5]
And though the words they sang were few
They had the ring of something true
I listened long and began to sing
The way the unfledged bird takes the wing
I sang with the old men of the shells

[Piano Solo]

[Verse 6]
I cast around to find my tune
Thinking to sing the song all alone
But wise words on a foolish tongue
Howsoever sweetly they be sung
They jangle like the brassy bells of hell
And they'll never please the old men of the shells

[Verse 7]
The old men of the shells, my boys
The old men of the shells
I left the ones who love me well
To find my home in the ocean swells
And lie with the old men of the shells