Down by the old mill stream

DOWN BY THE OLD MILL STREAM

You must know that my uncle is a farmer,
Keeps a large farm in the west;
While staying these I met a little charmer,
And many's the time I caressed
That girl so fair with the nut-brown hair,
Her equal ne'er was seen,
And where I met this charming little pet,
Was down by the old mill stream - Ah!
            
Down by the old mill stream,
There many happy hours I've been seen,
Strolling day by day, we passed the time away,
Down by the old mill stream.

Her father was the owner of a dairy,
Her brother worked the plough,
And while I used to walk with little Mary,
Her mother would  milk the cow,
But her father said we should not wed,
Which I thought rather mean,
As she could not be my wife, she said she'd end her life
By drowning in the old mill steam.

Now the old man laughed at his daughter,
Saying "I don't believe a word that you say,"
But when he saw her struggling in the water,
He exclaimed "Do save her pray!"
But it was too late; she had met her fate,
Oh, what a terrible scene!
The old man cried, as the neighbours tried,
To pull her out of the stream.

At last they got her out of the water,
And some of the neighbours said,
Oh Browne you've been the ruin of your daughter,
For the girl is really dead!
He tore his hair, gave way to despair
Ran away, never more was seen,
And now I'm told that the dairy is sold,
That stood by the old mill stream.

There are a number of songs called The Old Mill Stream (some others are listed below). The most commonly remembered song of this title is an early 20th century sentimental song written by Tell Taylor in 1908 – sung by Uncle Dave Macon, Riley Puckett and other early country/traditional singers in the States but not the song we’re talking about here..

This Down by the Old Mill Stream was a hit in the halls of the 1870s, later collected from the singing of William Godwin by early 20th century collector Alfred Williams.

This version was originally written, composed and performed by John Read, who was reported to be singing it as early as November 1873, in his role as Chairman at Sam Collins’s. Hopwood and Crew first advertised their sheet music for the song in January 1874.

The song was sold to Fred Coyne, and a second edition of the sheet music (shown here, published by J Bath) was on sale in March 1874.

A third edition of the sheet music was also published in America in 1875, which credited the song to Warren Wilson – given the state of copyright laws at the time such pirating was relatively common. The rapid re-publication suggests it was a popular song on both sides of the Atlantic!