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Don't Fall in Love with a Mermaid

Words and music copyright ©2000 by Blake Hodgetts

(People have commented that this song seems a little xenophobic. I prefer to think of it as just good advice from one who's had some unfortunate experiences.)


Don't fall in love with a mermaid
     That's a match destined for doom
The brine will destroy your complexion
     And the bedchamber plunge you in gloom
If she shows an interest in mating
     Take this as your signal to bail
She expects you to seed her eggs after they're laid,
     and you'll never get tail from her tail.

Don't fall in love with a centaur
     You'll stray too far from the course
Remember your amorous moments
     Will involve the rear end of a horse
Though you might think riding bareback
     would give you a heck of a thrill
Don't think she won't throw you for some Palomino
     Because I've been there, and she will.

Don't fall in love with a fairy
     You'll be her pick-of-the-week
Fairies have no staying power
     They only live for mystique
I must admit that I marvelled
     As she spread those miraculous wings
But I was deflated when she yawned and stated
     That all guys had "one of those things".

Don't fall in love with a naiad
     There's a prescription for woe
It won't get through her cerebrum
     That you can't live down below
She makes it look so darned easy
     Breathing the water like air
But never go down, or I promise you’ll drown,
     and she isn't likely to care.

Don't fall in love with a siren
     You'll soon grow bored with her song
Once she has snared you she'll keep you,
     singing to string you along
There’s one way I’ve found to escape her
     So if you are ready to drop
Just say her high C seems a little off-key,
     and in mortification she'll stop.

Don't fall in love with a succubus
     It may be tough to avoid
She has you at this disadvantage:
     Asleep, you're not eas'ly annoyed
But the daily division of housework
     Will prove that you're under duress:
When it gets light and you've partied all night,
     Look who gets stuck with the mess.

Don't fall in love with an amazon
     It's not a safe thing to do
She'll go off fighting in battles,
     She'll expect you to come too.
You won't want her feeling lonely,
     Especially when she's in bed,
But she is a warrior and you are just you
     So she'll survive and you'll be dead.

Don't fall in love with a harpy
     Winsome though she, um, might be
Creatures with avian bodies
     Don't match the human ésprit
She'll favor acts aerobatic
     If you are proposing to ball
And when there's a pause she will clutch with her claws,
     but if you are lucky you'll fall.

Don't fall in love with a gorgon
     It might seem unlikely to you
But many a man's lost his marbles
     And done things that I wouldn't do
I'd rather not go into details
     And trust me, you don't want to know
But if you have dread of those snakes on her head
     You'd better not look down below

Don't fall in love with a goddess
     She'll never approve of your hair
And sometimes when you're in communion
     She'll act as if you aren't there
Her job as a deity's stressful
     She won't have attention for you
And if your best stuff is just not good enough
     She'll dump you and make someone new.

Now if you'd be smitten by Eros
     And Venus and Agapé too
If you want a gentle companion
     A woman who's worthy to woo
If you want a match that's successful
     And likely to stay on the track
I'd like to suggest that the kind that works best
     Is a human who fancies you back.

Yes, you cannot go wrong with advice from this song
     And a human who fancies you back.