It was in the tattoo parlour   Where he engraved their names   Words a winding round his shoulders   Reminders now he's older      In the magic of the parlour   Down his arm unwinds a story   Love and hate and mum and dad   In flames of hope and glory      A mermaid and a schooner   Tells us he was once at sea   A heart pierced by an arrow   Tells us once more in love was he   And a dragon spitting fire   He's forgotten what that's for   But tattooed on his mind   Is a reminder of the war      He gave up tattooing lovers   Where no room for any others   A line through every sweetheart   With another etched below   In every port a stormy girl   They loved him and they loved him so   Each one for all to see adorned   With cupids and with bows      A mermaid and a schooner   Tells us he was once at sea   A heart pierced by an arrow   Tells us once more in love was he   And a dragon spitting fire   He's forgotten what that's for   But tattooed on his mind is a reminder of war      In the magic of the parlour   Swapping laughter swapping stories   Where the words are often hard   And the air is always blue   He remembers all his mates from then   He lost a couple maybe ten   Their headstone on his forearm as a crucifix tattoo      Now he leans upon the bar   With a mysterious air   And the ladies gather round   To view his decorated arms   He'll tell them of each scroll and line   And other scars not so fine   And they always want to see   A little more of old jacks charms      A mermaid and a schooner ...