177. The Miller and His Three Sons


177

The Miller and His Three Sons

This satire upon the knavery of millers is old and widely known;
see BSM 244 and add Vermont (NGMS 11-13), Virginia (FSV
137-8), North Carolina (FSRA 183), Florida (FSF 381-3). Indi-
ana (HFLB III 2), and Michigan (BSSM 247-9). The ten texts
in our collection differ chiefly in the names of the three sons (de-

^ Dr. Brown noted here the refrain as he knew it :
Rimy dimy dime, sir.
Rimy dimy day.
He was the finest sheep
That ever was fed on hay.

 

OLDER BALLADS MOSTLY BRITISH 44I

vised to rhyme respectively with "peck," "half," and "sack" or
"all") and in the stanzaic and refrain structure. Not all of them
need be given in full.

A

'The Miller and His Three Sons.' From Dr. E. E. Ericson of Chapel
Hill, not dated. With the music as set down by R. Chase.

1 There was an old miller and he lived all alone.
He had three sons that were almost grown.
He was about to make his will,

And all that he had was a little old mill.
Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !

2 So he said to his oldest son,
'Son, O son, I'm almost gone;
And if to you this mill I take,

Pray tell me the toll that you mean to take.'
Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !

3 'Father, you know my name is Jack;
Out of a bushel I'll take a peck ;
For if my fortune I would make,

O that is the toll that I mean to take.'
Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !

4 'Son, O son, I'm afraid you're a fool;
You have not learned to follow my rule.
To you this mill I will not give,

For by such a toll no man can live.'
Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !

5 Then he said to his second son, &c. as above

6 'Father, you know my name is Ralph ;

Out of a bushel I'll take a half ; &c. as above

7 'Son, O son,' &c. as in stanza 4 above

8 Then he said to his youngest son, &c. as above

9 'Father, you know my name is Paul ;
Out of a bushel I'll take it all,

I'll take all the grain and swear by the sack
And beat the boys when they come back.'

Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !
10 'Glory be to God!'^ the old man says,

'I've got one son that's learned my ways.'

'Hallelujah !' the old woman cried.

And the old man straightened out his legs and he died

Hi ! Fol ! Diddle all the day !

B

'The Miller.' Reported by Jesse T. Carpenter of Durham. Does not
differ significantly from A.
' Or : " 'Oh, that's fine !' "

 

442 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

 

'The Miller's Will.' Contributed by Miss Amy Henderson of Worry,
Burke county, in 1914. The opening stanza was not remembered. The
names are Jake (rhymes with "take"), Ralph, and Jack (rhymes with
"sack"). The final stanza will be a sufficient specimen:

He called to him his youngest son :
'Son, oh, [son,] my race is run.
If I you the miller make
I want you to tell me what toll you'll take.'
'Father, father, my name is Jack ;
I'll take all the corn and swear to the sack.'
'Hurrah! hurrah!' the old woman cried;
The old man shut his eyes and died.
Far-lack-a-day, far-lack-a-day.

 

'The Miller.' Obtained from Frank Proffitt, Sugar Grove, Watauga
county, in 1937. A somewhat reduced version with no refrain indicated.
The names of the sons are Heck, Taflf, and Jack. And the point of the
story is lost ; for the last stanza runs :

'Pop, oh pop, my name is Jack,
I'll take it all and swear to the sack.'
'Son, oh son, no man can live,
At no sich a toll no man can live.'

 

'The Will of the Old Milliar.' A manuscript secured in 1913 or 1914
from "a farmer's wife." Rudely spelled, and without any refrain indi-
cated. The sons' names are feck, galf, and Jack. "Toll" becomes
"tale" and "thrive" becomes "rive." But the story does not differ from
the norm presented by other texts.

 

'The Old Miller.' From Mrs. R. D. Blacknall of Durham, apparently
in 1922 or 1923. Lacks the opening stanza ; the two older sons are Jack
and Ralph, but the youngest is not named. Final stanza :

He called to him his youngest son.

Saying, 'My race is almost run.

If I to you these mills should make,

Tell me what toll you mean to take.'

'Father.' said he, 'I am your boy,

To do your will is all my joy.

If you to me the.se mills should make,

I'd steal the corn, and hide the sack.'

'You are my son!' the old man said,

'You've learned your good old father's trade !

You are my joy ! You are my pride !'

Then closed his good old eyes and died.

 

OLDER BALLADS — MOSTLY BRITISH 443

G

'The Old Miller Rake.' Reported by L. W. Anderson as collected by
Delma Haywood from Mrs. Sallie Meekins of Colington on the Banks.
Here there is no attempt to make tiie sons' names rhyme with their
proposals for taking toll; they all claim the same name (if "Rage" in
stanza 3 is a mere misvvriting for "Rake").

1 The old miller Rake, and he lived on a hill.

He had three sons and he was going to make his will.

2 He called up his oldest son,
Says, 'Son, my day is almost rini.
If to you my will I make,

Now pray tell me the toll you will take.'

3 'Father, you know my name is Rage ;
For one bushel I'll take one peck.'

'The mill hain't yours,' the old man cried.
'By such a toll no man can abide.'

4 He called up his second son,
Says, 'Son, my day is almost run.
If to you this will I make,

Now pray tell me the toll you'll take.'

5 'Father, you know my name is Rake.
From one bushel I'll take two pecks.'
'The mill hain't yours,' the oldliian cried.
'By such a toll no man can abide.'

6 He called up his youngest son,
Says, 'Son, my days are almost run.
Now to you this will I make.

Now pray tell me the toll you'll take.'

7 'Father, you know my name is Rake,
And from one bushel I'll take three pecks;
And if they grumble much at that

I'll take the whole and swear to the sack.'

8 'The mill is yours,' the old man cried.
So he shut his eyes and died.

Fol de .... rol .... d ... . ride.-

H
•The Miller's Will.' Reported by J. E. Massey of Elon College as
"recited to me by J. W. Massey, December 28, 1916." Here the sons
have no names and their replies are limited to a single line each ; and
there is a rather lengthy refrain. The closing section will sufficiently
illustrate its method :

He called to his youngest son
And says, 'My cup is almost run.

* This last line looks like an indication of a refrain ; but if so, one
wonders just where it comes in, and why it was not indicated earlier.

 

444 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

Pray tell me how much toll do you mean for to take,'
'I'll take the whole and swear to the sack.'

Chorus:

To my foddle dinky day

To my foil doll doll doll doddle dinky day

'Ho, ho !' the old man says,

'You have fully learnt my trade,

So unto you tlie mill I decide.'

And the old man closed his eyes and died.

Chorus:

1
The Miller and His Three Sons.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton, but she
does not tell where and when she found it. There is no refrain. The
oldest son is named Heck, which supplies a satisfactory rhyme for
"peck." Otherwise it agrees fairly well with A. The opening stanza,
however, has a reminiscence of another miller song in its second line.
The stanza runs :

There was an old miller and he lived at the mill,
And the wheel goes around with a right good will.
He was about to die and he had to make his will.
And all that he had was his little old mill.

J
'The Miller and His Three Sons.' From Alexander Tugman of Todd.
Ashe county. The refrain runs : "I rec ko rek tum I rin ko ry do."
---------
 


177

 

The Miller and His Three Sons

 

'The Miller and His Three Sons.' Sung by Dr. E. E. Ericson. Recorded as

 


MS score at Chapel Hill ; no date given. For additional text versions and com-
ments of. PMOT, I 190-1 and 11 772; also Whittaker, 25.1

 


For melodic relationship cf. *BSSM 247, first three notes only; BSO 167,
measure i with up-beat.

Scale: Mixolydian, plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure: abed (2,2,2,4). The
last phrase is terminally incremented.

 

A(I)
'The Miller and His Three Sons.' Sung by Mrs. Ewart Wilson. Recorded ;
no date or place given. Another title is 'The Miller.' Textually, the only dif-
ference is in the chorus.

 


^ Students of musical history will be interested in a statement by Leah J.
Wolford, The Play-Party in Indiana (Indianapolis, 1916), p. 68: "The tune to
'The Jolly Miller' was in 1624 harmonized by Beethoven for George Thomson
(Pills to Purge Melancholy, i, p. 169)" — quoted by B. A. Botkin, The American
Play-Party Song (Lincoln, Nebraska, 1937), p. 247.

 

For melodic relationship cf. **Sharp 11 222, No. 161B, measures 2, 4-10;
FSF 382, No. 205A, melodic line of second measure.

Scale: Mixolydian, plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure: mm^n op = (2,2,4,2,2)
= Barform plus strophe.

 

•The Miller and His Three Sons.' Sung by Alexander Tugman. Recorded as
MS score at Todd, Ashe county; no date given. The section in ~A is consider-
ably slower than the preceding in %. Such change in time signature affectmg
a whole section is rather rare.

3

For melodic relationship cf. **BSO 167, No. 61A, measure i with up-beat:
also our measures 9-12 are in the general melodic line an augmentation of the
seventh and eighth measures of the Ohio version.

Scale: Hexatonic (6), plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure, abcde (4,4,2,2,2).

 

 

2 'Father/ he said, 'My name is Jack;
From every bushel I'll take one peck ;
And every bushel the mill does grind,
A very good living I will find.'

 

K 'The Miller's Sons.' Sung by Miss Ruth Miller. From a previous recording
of Dr. W. A. Abrams, Boone, Watauga county; no date given. The text of
this version is totally different from any of those given in II 440-4. There is
also no refrain in this ballad. The identical text can be found in FSCSG 44-5.

3


For melodic relationship cf. ***FSCSG 44-5, No. 18.

Scale: Heptachordal. Tonal Center: e-flat. Structure: nmmi (4,4,4) = In-
verted barform.