Lyrics
There was a jolly miller and he lived by himself,
As the wheel went ’round he made his wealth.
With one hand in the hopper and the other in the bag,
As the wheel went ’round he made his grab.
Dance / Play Party
Play with an uneven number of children. All in a circle hand in hand (or arm in arm) with a partner, except one student, the “miller,” in the center. All sing while walking around, one partner group following another around the circle. On the word “grab,” every inside partner steps forward and tries to grab the hand/arm of the outside partner in front of him/her. Meanwhile, the miller tries to grab the hand of an outside person before someone else. If successful, the miller joins the circle, and the one left without a partner becomes the new “miller.”
See also
- songs about millers
- pentatonic songs
- recorder D,E,G,A,B songs
- movement / dance songs
- circle games
- songs with Orff arrangements
- songs with low so & low la
- songs with repeated tones in the melody
- similar song: Miller Boy
- similar song: Happy is the Miller
- similar song – recording
- more lyrics
- source: The Singing Game, Iona & Peter Opie, Oxford University Press, 1985
(or available for purchase here)
- Song with chords, Orff arrangement, Student Copies (PDF)
- MIDI file
- Listen to the song
