A choral ballad from the late 19th century
Words by Julia Bachope Goddard
Music by Eaton Faning
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by Denese Coulbeck:
Lyrics
Merrily, O merrily,
The mill-wheel turns today,
With splash and dash,
And merry crash,
For the miller’s heart is gay.
Wearily, wearily,
There came at eventide,
A maiden fair,
With shining hair,
Over the dark hillside.
Cheerily, cheerily,
The miller spake; quoth he,
“Great joy were mine,
Didst thou incline,
Sweet maid, my bride to be.”
Joyfully, joyfully,
The maiden spake her “yea;”
And the bells rang soon
A merry tune,
For the miller’s wedding day.
Now lustily, lustily,
The miller singeth he,
His voice keeps time
With the water’s chime,
And his heart from care is free.
Merrily, O merrily,
The mill-wheel whirls around,
With splash and dash,
And merry crash,
For the miller joy hath found
Performed here by The Lyric Quartet: