Lyrics to "Mermaid"

[Will Sheff]

I saw some people had been asking for lyrics to "Mermaid." Here they are the way they appear in the book:


Mermaid

So I said, “Men, pull her out of the water.
And then lay on hands,
and bind back her flippers and tail
until international waters. And there we’ll feel
what’s human inside of her.”

So she’s chilly and slick
on her hips where the scales
meet with skin. With a sickening
flick of her tail, circling,
her gills fill with cold, salty water. She thrashes
and twirls, her freezing fins fluttering.

And she’s pretty, I think,
with her hair dark as ink, and her belly bone-white.
And her lips, of a slight, sea-shell pink, slightly part
as she’s tonguing the tub’s rusty rim,
as the saltwater flows out and in.

All farewells to the land we knew well
we’d never be touching again.
To the fields where we rambled and ran.
Farewell to our wives and children.
Let’s stand on the deck and let’s watch
them all disappearing.

And the days all float by
in a daze, over waves, under sky.
And the weeks slowly leak into years.
The last islands are all left behind as we silently sail.

Until late some dark night, a wild wind starts to wail.
And our map blows away.
And our compasses fail.
And it’s out on the lost boiling black water
where I see her float out.
And she’s so thin and so pale. I see her rise up.
And she’s so fast and so fair. My hands meet,
and they press to a point in the air,

but my mouth fills with more panic than prayer.
And my skull fills with more color than care.
And my heart fills with love, with too much love to bear.
And I know that I’ll stay, and that she’ll always be there,
my hands sunk in cold sand,
sea-weed strung through her hair.

[thuglifeforevs]

thank you! i was close.
it's really very lovely.
and it's really quite sad.

[bill1410]

That's amazing, thanks so much. What a great song.

[Soupytwist]

Been listening to this on Youtube this afternoon while at work - a lovely song, but have I read it correctly that this isn't going to be on the new album? Is there actually a track listing available yet?
I really hope this single is available to buy in the UK version of Amazon or Itunes when I get home tonight!

Really, really looking forward to the album, and thanks for those lyrics.

[David]

This is indeed beautiful. It made me ever so happy on the first listen and has whet my appetite for the new album. I hope to god we get a UK tour at somepoint this year.

[MattF]

Been listening to this on Youtube this afternoon while at work - a lovely song, but have I read it correctly that this isn't going to be on the new album? Is there actually a track listing available yet?
I really hope this single is available to buy in the UK version of Amazon or Itunes when I get home tonight!

Really, really looking forward to the album, and thanks for those lyrics.

I'm in Australia and just bought it off the jagjaguwar site...

[behindthestars]

Love the new song. So excited for the new record. OR, I've missed you! Thanks for posting this up, Will!

[freejoe76]

Man, I've loved reading your lyrics for almost a decade now. Thanks!

[w3stfa11]

Been listening to this on Youtube this afternoon while at work - a lovely song, but have I read it correctly that this isn't going to be on the new album? Is there actually a track listing available yet?
I really hope this single is available to buy in the UK version of Amazon or Itunes when I get home tonight!

Really, really looking forward to the album, and thanks for those lyrics.

Correct, these two songs won't be on the new album. The track listing can be found in the Spin magazine interview. Btw, you can buy the song by going to the Jagjaguwar site and click Add to Cart.
http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive- ... rack-track

Also, I've created the Wikipedia page for I Am Very Far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Very_Far

[David]

Also, I've created the Wikipedia page for I Am Very Far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Very_Far

I commend you for setting up this page however (and apologies for being a pedantic bastard) it lists I Am Very Far as being their 5th album when it will actually be their 6th.

[w3stfa11]

Also, I've created the Wikipedia page for I Am Very Far.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Very_Far

I commend you for setting up this page however (and apologies for being a pedantic bastard) it lists I Am Very Far as being their 5th album when it will actually be their 6th.

Pedantic bastards are cool in my book. Thanks for the correction, I've fixed it now.

[jojodancer]

Will,

Any chance of posting the lyrics from the version from "In Search Of A Midnight Kiss," for comparison's sake. I'd love to see the evolution.

Thanks so much,

A most dedicated fan