This design could be seen as symbolizing a number of things, anything from betrayal to revenge for overfishing.
Hoewever, I think it may best be thought of simply as a depiction of an old seaside fairytale.

Links to the full image closeup as well as more color options:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/wonderfish/blueyellow-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/wonderfish/teal-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/wonderfish/grey.jpg

love love love
$5

i love it!!!5!

Grey.

This is actually amazing

$5$5

This is really cool. Only a couple of things bug me: 1) I wish the kid was older, more of a teenager or a grown man; 2) the mermaid's waist is really long and wierd shaped - she doesn't have hips where she should. This is some stunning work though! 4

I am a sucker for mermaids, and I think this is an amazing design. definitely keep it on either gray or neutral/cream.

I like it, alot actually, but the only thing I would change on it is to make the Mermaid beckoning him in, rather than pulling. I think he would very much "Feel the drowing" were it forced upon him. Just my thoughts, 5.

i like the concept, but the poses are so unnatural, its distracting

I agree with the boy being a bit older. I like the skull detail though, nice. One other thing is that it's "You'll not feel the drowning" not "You won't feel the drowning" minor complaints on an overall nice design

I'm sorry about the mistake with the quote. It's not actually on the design, if that's any comfort.

it's interesting to me that there have been quite a few people who think making the boy older would enhance the design (including the other person who accidentally posted about it on my other design). I was thinking having a young child would make the situation more sinister.

Nice overall design. I like the concept too. I like the interpretation of part three of the song. Also, I think if the boy were an adolescent, not a grown man though, it would fit the song better:
"Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now little ugly
go to sleep now you little fool:
The whole bit about the sweethearts would lead me to think it'd be a bit older than a boy, but the parents part makes me think he wouldn't all that old.

fool"* stupid pinky finger...

wow... very nice design!

I really like the illustration! I didn't think I was going to until I saw the mermaid. Very cool, very Decemberists-y.

For those who wished the boy in the design had been a teenager: http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m193/wonderfish/3.jpg

however, I prefer the first boy, as when I put the second in context, he pretty much threw off the balance of the whole design. I didn't make the rocks high enough to accomodate his stature. I had to extend the height of the design, which would probably make it quite awkward on a shirt. based on this as well as my lack of skill with radically altering designs I've scanned, the first design works best in my opinion. Please excuse my ignoring certain technicalities - this is after all my interpretation of the theme, and not a direct reperesentation of the lyrics.

i still think both the boy and the teen take away from this illustrations beauty. Can it not be left with just the fishing line and part of the pole entering the scene... and leave the rest to imagination?

great design. though people may not like the kid (he is a kid right?) getting killed. make it an older gentleman. no one cares for them.
either way i dont care.

the mermaid has a very weird looking neck . . .but i like this design . . .

i love the sketchy quality of it! It's so wonderful...

I love this. It's got nice movement, and I would wear this shirt any day! Just please don't wimp out on the girls shirt-- don't make it light blue!
$5

I don't like the boy, he has a strange face. But the mermaid is awesome :D so $5

its very pretty. I might buy it *thumbsup*

The little boy is way cute, but I'd hate to see him die. >_< And something about the mermaid kind of makes her look man-ish. But besides all of that, I think this is a wonderful interpretation of the theme, and the artwork is gorgeous. :) 4$.

i like!!!!

If it were candy I would eat it. $5

oh man i would buy this in a second. great colors. great style. perfect for the song... couldn't be better. $5

I agree with mikey and the mermaid kind of looks like a guy :/
with her hair looking like a sideburn from a distance and her manly jaw
4

I only really see what you're talking about from a pretty far distance...zooming out wrecks some of the details, but I had to make it small so that most of it would fit.

great artwork, love it

I would buy tons of these

I'm also with the older camp. A lot of the Decemberists songs deal with rape and murder -- especially the song this quote is coming from even though you mention interpreting the theme and not the lyrics... having a kid there doesn't seem right

just fyi it's not okay to rape and murder older people either lol. that's the vibe i'm getting. anyways i always try to delve into what the artist is trying to portray. i dig it. ;)

the mermaid looks a bit stiff - soften up her posture - does that make sense?

I think this would be pretty cool on the side of the shirt.

is this traced?

SUPER

traced as in with tracing paper? um, no...

love the drawing and concept but the caption is off-putting imho

i think this is beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. I love the grace and sheer princess look of the mermaid. she's not too long or too straight, but perfectly laid on the bottom of the sea with just the amount of tension where she is pulling him, but not deathly ripping him out of his shoes. its sneaky in a way. it's gotta be a boy to prove this point, he has to be innocent and unsuspecting to draw us in so we can connect with him. i've always wished mermaids were down there when i went fishing, but I always thought that they were kind beings. this shows a different side.

i'd wear this..