The Ballad of the Oysterman

It was a tall young oysterman lived by the riverside;

His shop was just upon the bank, his boat was on the tide;

The daughter of a fisherman, that was so straight and slim,

Lived over on the other bank, right opposite to him.

It was the tidy oysterman that saw a lovely maid,

Upon a moonlight evening, a rowing on the shade;

He called across the river, “Oh, lovely maid!” cried he,

“Come down and share my oysters, I’ll share my love with thee.”

Now, love had never entered the maiden’s heart before,

But soon she loved the oysterman, and could not love him more.

She sighed whene’er she saw his boat upon the river glide;

The oysterman looked very wise, and did not row his tide.

And now the lovers were betrothed, and when the night came down,

The oysterman would cross the stream to see his lady brown;

But there was one that envied him, and swore to have his life,—

And this was the jealous fisherman, that owned the maiden’s wife.

One night the oysterman did come, and rowed across the tide,

He steered toward the fisherman’s house, his lovely bride beside;

But as he pulled the little boat along the moonlit stream,

He heard a splash behind him, and the moonlight lost its beam.

The tide was strong, the oysterman was gone beneath the wave;

And now the lover and his love were sleeping in one grave;

And often when the wind blows high, and the tide is on the turn,

They say the oysterman’s ghost doth cry, “Where is my sweet return?”