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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

The Miller of Dee
 (Sung text for setting by L. Beethoven)
 See original
Language: English 
There was a jolly miller once
Lived 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 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, no, not I,
If nobody cares for me.

 ... 

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 dot for us,
Why not a dot care we.

Note: this version of the folk text was discovered in 1857 written on a flyleaf of a 1716 collection of John Dryden's poems.

Composition:

    Set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The Miller of Dee", WoO 157 no. 5 (1819), stanzas 1-2,4, from 12 songs of various nationalities, no. 5

Text Authorship:

  • from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

Go to the general single-text view

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • GER German (Deutsch) (Georg Pertz) , "Der Müller am Flusse Dee"


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2005-12-08
Line count: 32
Word count: 195

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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