I was drinking gin when she came in
And she was naked
It was close to closing time and outside
It was raining
They began to spit at her
All the drunks in town
She came from the river
She didn’t know her way around

She was a mermaid
Who had lost her way

Putting cigarettes out on her breasts
They harassed her
Pouring beer in her hair
And falling off their chairs
Full of laughter
A stranger to tears
She wouldn’t cry
A stranger to words
She couldn’t tell us why

She was a mermaid
Who had lost her way

Her eyes were the color of a lover
I can’t remember
Eventually she left by the same door
That she entered
I imagine she jumped in the river
And was clean
Swimming without looking back
Swimming without a dream

She was a mermaid
Who had lost her way