Sinéad Lohan is an Irish singer and songwriter. Her music has been described as having a "folky feel" and her persona "by turns reflective, poetic and wistful." She was one of the "most commercially successful artists" in Ireland in the 1990s. Her lyrics have been inspired by Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll and have "intense, colorful imagery" while her stage performance at a concert in Los Angeles was described as " confident and luminous on stage, but not quite commanding."
A native of Cork, her song "Sailing By" appeared on the compilation A Woman's Heart 2.
She has released two albums, Who Do You Think I Am in 1995, which scored several radio hits in Ireland, and No Mermaid in 1998, which has been rated 4/5 stars at Allmusic.No Mermaid was released by Interscope Records after a bidding war between several major labels. In 1998, she performed with Lilith Fair for 3 dates.
The song "No Mermaid" was used in the movie Message in a Bottle. Lohan did a tour of Ireland with Joan Baez who later recorded Lohan's songs "No Mermaid" and "Who Do You Think I Am". The Canadian female vocal group Shaye recorded "No Mermaid" on their album The Bridge. The progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek covered her song "Out Of The Woods" (also from the album No Mermaid) on their Nickel Creek album (2000). The song "What Can Never Be" was used in an episode of Dawson's Creek called "Northern Lights".
We went down to the edge of the water
You were afraid to go in
You said there might be sharks out there in the ocean
And I said I'm only going for a swim
I was swimming around in a circle
I wasn't always in view
You said we might get into red flag danger
And I am alone when I'm not with you
I am no mermaid, I am no mermaid
And I am no fisherman's slave
I am no mermaid, I am no mermaid
I keep my head above the waves
I was swinging from the centre of the ceiling
You were afraid to give in
I said I know I'll always live for this feeling
And you closed your eyes and said never again
I was dancing in the middle of the desert
You said we'd burn under the hot sun
I said I'd rather be the colour of pleasure
Than watch like you from under the thumb
I am no mermaid, I am no mermaid
And I am no fisherman's slave
I am no mermaid, I am no mermaid