Once there lived a fair young maiden
No kinder could there be
Of chaste and holy virtue
On a rock down by the sea

Her mother was a dancer
No father did she know
She met a horseless rider
And with him she did go

He took her to the mountain
And there atop the world
He made a fateful promise
To forever love this girl

She smiled but did not answer
She took him to the sea
It was there that he discovered
No lover could she be

She went into the water
Her black hair flecked with foam
She was Heaven’s only daughter
In an instant she was gone

The rider dove in after her
But his Love it dragged him down
He washed ashore next morning
Near a little fishing town

The villagers knew his story
They’d dreamt it all night long
He asked them how it all would end
They answered him in song.

They sang:

Row home boys, row back home to shore
The saint of sunken women
Walks the waves tonight calling
Sailors to their doom

Luminous Lady, keep us from darkness
Mary Star of the Sea
Fill us with the lightness of your being
Drag us not down with thee

Hearing this, the rider wept
So loud and long he loved in vain
That a mighty wave overtook him
Swept him out to sea again

As if in answer to his lament
The waters opened up and
Issued forth a pure white horse
It neighed and tossed its mane

The rider climbed up on its back
Leaned in close and kissed it
Whispering, “I love you still but
Leave me be, Mary Star of the Sea”