Agnete og Havmannen (Norwegian folk song)

Artist: Lajla Renate Buer Storli
Title means 'Agnete and the merman'

The song is about a woman, Agnete, who is walking across a bridge in England and is greeted by a merman in the sea below. He asks if she wants to be his wife, she says yes and he takes her down into the depths of the sea. They end up having many children together, but one day Agnete hear the church bells ringing. She travels to the church, but the merman comes after her and tries to get her back.

There are many variants of the song, this one is a quite shortened one and leaving out some details, there's some minor differences in the various variants.

Here's a more general description of the ballad from a Norwegian folk song book:

"Agnete crosses a bridge, and at the same time a merman appears from the sea. He asks if she wants to accompany him home to his kingdom, and Agnete answers yes. Agnete stays with the merman for many years and gives birth to several children. But one fine day she hears the church bells ringing, and she asks the merman for permission to go home and go to church. He agrees, but she must promise to return to her children, and moreover she must not follow the custom of the Christians, such as bending her knees and sitting in the church chair with her closest relatives. But Agnete acts contrary to what the merman has said. He hurries to the church to get her back, but she refuses, and in most cases he has to travel without her."