Down by the old mill stream

AKA Old mill stream
You must know that my uncle is a farmer
First Published 1874
Writer/composer John Read Roud RN18684

Music Hall Performers Fred Coyne
Folk performances Collected from the singing of:
Godwin, William Charles; England : Oxfordshire; c1916		 

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!

The 19th century versions and I can find all end miserably as shown above, but the version printed in the modern book Songs of the Good Old Days has been given a happy ending – replacing the last three lines with:

While my love I pulled from the stream;
And now we await, and it is well said,
Two happier ne’er was seen

from Ken Tate, Janice Tate (2004)

Here are some of the other songs of this title (with Roud Index numbers):

  • The Old Water Mill aka The Old Mill Stream (RNV6221). First Line: And is this the old mill stream that 10 years ago. Appears in publications from mid-1850s on, based on a poem by Eliza Cook
  • The Old Mill Stream (RNV16519). First Line: Beautiful streamlet how precious to me, based on a different poem by Eliza Cook written in the late 1860s
  • Down by the Old Mill Stream (RNV16278). First Line My Mary was the daughter of a farm in the West, Kidson Broadside Collection.
  • Meet me by the old mill stream (RNV6222). First Line: No tongue can tell what joy I feel, sung by Kate Harvey.
  • Down by the Old Mill Stream (no RN), First Line: My darling I am dreaming of the days gone by. An early 20th century sentimental song by Tell Taylor, recorded in 1910 by Arthur Clough.

errors

S300970, S301158, S306606, S383713, S345957, S467772 = tell taylor not read,

Sources: