| Author | Topic: Add: The Miller of Dee [The Jolly Miller] | |
| dmcg | Posted - 27 Sep 03 - 11:13 am | |
There was a jolly miller once Liv'd on the river Dee, He work'd and sang from morn till night, No lark more blithe than he, And this the burden of his song Forever us'd to be, "I care for nobody, no not I, If nobody cares for me." I live by my mill, she is to me Like parent, child and wife, I would not change my station For any other in life No lawyer, surgeon, doctor E'er had a groat from me, And I care for nobody, no not I, If nobody cares for me. Source: Sabine Baring Gould, 1895, Old English Songs from English Minstrelsie Notes: This is taken from the selection of the eight volume work by Baring Gould of the same name, reprinted by Llanerch Publishers. Notes are not given in the selection, but are in the full eight volume work to which I do not have access. Therefore I can give very little information about the origins of this song. In the reprint, it is simply listed as "Old English". Database entry is here. | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 01:40 am | |
From Frank Kidson - Grove entries: Miller Of The Dee, The | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 03:31 am | |
Roud 503. William Chappell, Popular Music of the Olden Time, 1859, II 666-668, goes into some detail under the following heading: THE BUDGEON IT IS A DELICATE TRADE This tune is now familiarly known as There was a jolly Miller; it is also the vehicle of a harvest-supper song, "Heres's a health unto our Master;" but a still earlier name (or at least a name under which I find it at an earlier date) is The budgeon it is a delicate trade. The budgeon it is a delicate trade, is contained in The Triumph of Wit, or Ingenuity displayed, and in A new Canting Dictionary, &c., "with a complete collection of songs in the canting dialect," 8vo., 1725. From this it appears that a "budge" is a thief who slips into houses in the dark, to steal cloaks and other clothes. The dialect of the song might be intelligible to a police-officer, but would not be so to the general reader, as the following sample will shew:- The budgeon it is a delicate trade, And a delicate trade of fame, For when that we have bit the blow, We carry away the game. But if the cully nabs us, and The lurries from us take, O then he rubs us to the whit, Though we are not worth a make. The tune was introduced into several of the ballad-operas (The Quaker's Opera, 1728; The Devil to pay, or Harlequin's Opera; &c.), under the name of The budgeon it is a delicate trade. One stanza of There was a jolly Miller is sung in Love in a Village, 1762; and it is therefore supposed to have been written by Bickerstaffe, but he appropriated so many songs from other sources, without acknowledgement, that this may also have been introduced. However, I have not seen the words in print before 1762. The following version is from The Convivial Songster, 1782:- There was a jolly miller once liv'd on the river Dee; He danc'd and he sang from morn till night, no lark so blithe as he. And this the burden of his song for ever us'd to be- I care for nobody, no not I, if nobody cares for me. I live by my mill, God bless her! she's kindred, child and wife; I would not change my station for any other in life. No lawyer, surgeon, or doctor, e'er had a groat from me- I care for nobody, no, not I, if nobody cares for me. When Spring begins its merry career, oh! how his heart grows gay; No summer drought alarms his fears, nor winter's sad decay; No foresight mars the miller's joy, who's wont to sing and say- Let others toil from year to year, I live from day to day. Thus like the miller, bold and free, let us rejoice and sing; The days of youth are made for glee, and time is on the wing. This song shall pass from me to thee, along this jovial ring- Let heart and voice and all agree to say Long live the King. About two years ago, the following stanzas were sent to the editor of The Illustrated London News to be printed among the "Memorabilia" in that journal. They were found written on the fly-leaf of a volume of Dryden's Miscellany Poems (printed in 1716), and the finder supposed them to be the original song of The jolly Miller:- There was a jolly miller once Lived on the river Dee; He worked and sang from morn till night, No lark more blithe than he. And this the burden of his song For ever used to be- I care for nobody, no not I, If nobody cares for me. The reason why he was so blithe, He once did thus unfold- The bread I eat my hands have earn'd; I covet no man's gold; I do not fear next quarter-day; In debt to none I be. I care for nobody, &c. A coin or two I've in my purse, To help a needy friend; A little I can give the poor, And still have some to spend. Though I may fail, yet I rejoice, Another's good hap to see. I care for nobody, &c. So let us his example take, And be from malice free; Let every one his neighbour serve, As served he'd like to be. And merrily push the can about, And drink and sing with glee; If nobody cares a doit for us, Why not a doit care we. When the harvest-supper song is sung to this tune, it is generally in a major key. I have copies so noted down in Kent, in Suffolk, and in Wiltshire; and it is printed in that form in "Old English Songs as now sung by the peasantry of the Weald of Surrey and Sussex" (collected by the Rev. John Broadwood), harmonized by G. A. Dusart. The following are the harvest-supper words as commonly sung:- Here's a health unto our master, the founder of the feast; I hope his soul, whenever he dies, to heav'n may go to rest; That all his works may prosper, whatever he takes in hand; For we are all his servants, and all at his command. Then drink - boys - drink - and see that you do not spill, For if you do, you shall drink two, it is our master's will. Now harvest it is ended, and supper it is past, To our good mistress' health, boys, a full and flowing glass, For she is a good woman, and makes us all good cheer: Here's to our mistress' health, boys, so all drink off your beer. Then drink - boys - drink - and see that you do not spill, For if you do, you shall drink two, it is our master's will. Sometimes the following verse is added, or the song commences with it:- Here's a health unto the woodcutter, that lives at home at ease; He takes his work so light in hand, can leave it when he please; He takes the withe and winds it, and lays it on the ground, And round the faggot he binds it, - so let his health go round. Then drink - boys - drink - and pass it round to me, The longer we sit here and drink, the merrier we shall be. The tune of The jolly Miller was one of those harmonised by Beethoven for George Thomson, in 1824. Thomson included it in his collection of Scotch songs, not because it was Scotch, but on account of "its merited popularity, and the great additional interest which Beethoven has conferred upon it by his truly original and characteristic accompaniments." The following are the words now usually sung:- [Here Chappell prints the tune, exactly as later printed by Baring Gould. The text, too, is the same; though the second half of the second verse is as follows: Then push, push, push the bowl, my boys, and pass it round to me; The longer we sit here and drink, the merrier we shall be.] | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 04:55 am | |
These editions are at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads: miller of the dee [title] miller of the river dee [title] there was a jolly miller [title] there was a jolly miller [tune] king and the miller of the dee [title] king and the miller [tune] | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 29 Sep 03 - 02:14 pm | |
I think the first line should be: E |G2 G ^F2 D |B2 B A2 c |B2 G A2 ^F | G3-G2 Here's the Beethoven version (only the melody transcribed here), from Herbert Haufrecht's Folk Songs in Settings by Master Composers (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970, pp. 42-43): X:1 T:The Miller of Dee (The Budgeon) M:6/8 L:1/8 B:Herbert Haufrecht, Folk Songs in Settings by Master Composers (pp. 42-43) S:G. Thomson; also Beethoven's Werke (Breitkopf and Hartel) K:Eb G|c2 c (c=B)G|e2 e d2 f|(fe)d (ed)=B|c3z2G| w:There was a jol - ly mill-er once Lived on_ the ri - ver Dee; He (c3/2d/)c (c=B)(=A/G/)|(e3/2f/)e d2 (g/f/)|(e3/2d/)c (d3/2c/)=B| w:worked_ and sang_ from_ morn_ till night, No_ lark_ more blythe_ than c3z2(e/f/)|g2 g g2 e|f2 f f2 d|(e3/2d/)c f2 e|(e3{fe}d2) G| w:he. And_ this the bur-den of his song For-ev - er used to be:_ I (c3/2d/)c {c}=B3/2=A/G|(e3/2f/)e Hd2 (g/f/)|{f}e3/2d/c ({e}d3/2c/)=B|c3-c2z|| w:care_ for no-bod-y, no,_ not I, If_ no-bod-y cares_ for me._ Edited By masato sakurai - 29-Sep-2003 02:16:18 PM | ||
| Mr Happy | Posted - 29 Sep 03 - 03:03 pm | |
It's the Scottish River Dee then, not the Welsh/English one? | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 29 Sep 03 - 06:21 pm | |
Tune corrected. | ||
| Ed | Posted - 29 Sep 03 - 09:18 pm | |
Well, thanks to Masato for pointing out Dave's mistake in the first line. A shame really though, I thought that Dave's 'wrong' note was an improvement... | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 29 Sep 03 - 09:28 pm | |
The wrong note was a G rather than an A. Obviously, its an example of my natural tendency to go flat at any opportunity. | ||