Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Several variants of the ballad Sir Patrick Spens depict a mermaid speaking to the doomed ships ; in some , she tells them they will never see land again , and in others , she claims they are near shore , which they are wise enough to know means the same thing .
Simplified: Several parts of the song Sir Patrick Spens is about a mermaid speaking to doomed ships , or telling them they will never see land again .