by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Merry may the maid be
Language: English
O merry may the maid be That marries the miller, For foul day and fair day He's ay bringing till her; He's ay a penny in his purse For dinner and for supper; And, gin she please, a good fat cheese, And lumps o' yellow butter. When Jamie first did woo me, I spier'd what was his calling? "Fair maid," says he, "O come and see, "Ye're welcome to my dwelling:" Tho' I was shy, yet I could spy The truth of what he told me, And that his house was warm and couth, And room in it to hold me. In winter, when the wind and rain, Blaws o'er the house and byre, He sits beside a clean hearth-stane, Before a rousing fire; With nut-brown ale he tells his tale, Which rows him o'er fu' happy, Who'd be a king, -- a petty thing, When a miller lives so happy!
GLOSSARY
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
Till = to;
Gin = if;
Spier'd = enquired;
Couth = comfortable.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Merry may the maid be", JHW. XXXII/5 no. 420, Hob. XXXIa no. 50bis [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2012-02-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 150