by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

The Miller of Dee
Language: English  after the English 
Our translations:  CAT
There was a jolly miller once lived on the river Dee;
He worked and sung 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.

"I love my mill, she is to me like parent, child and wife,
I would not change my station for any other in life.
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."

So sang the jolly miller, who lived on the river Dee;
He worked and sung 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."

Text Authorship:

Based on:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Roger Quilter.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El moliner del riu Dee", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 148