on a day of days i stood and gazed over the western sea startled and struck frightened to look when a mermaid called to me ooh wah ooh wah ooh my sunny sailor boy like a man in a dream for an age it seemed i stood as still as a stone while the mermaid sang and her melody rang like a harmony calling me home then the sea and the wind and the shores did spin though my resistance was strong all the stars in space filled the mermaid s face she captured my will with her song somehow i spoke the enchantment broke i rubbed my eyes open wide like a dream she was gone what remained was a song borne on the ebbing tide