As we begin, let's talk a bit about some of the more... confusing aspects of some older printing and ballads. You'll see in the poem that there are statements such as "but he, etc" and "yet, he etc". The are typically indicators placed for singers to either repeat a previous line, such as "but he took his own for anothers mark" or to indicate a place for the singer to improvise, which was pretty common, and why we can end up with so many variations of one song. So, as I read I will typically insert either the referenced line or a short improvise a short line from using previous statements.
It's important to keep in mind as you read that standard spelling was not a thing then. So before any of you get all pedantic in comments, learn your language history. If the initial spelling was so different as to make it difficult for an average modern audience to understand, I will have changed to standard spelling.
Also, while these songs were traditionally sung on street corners by performers who were selling the broadsheets, I'm not going to be singing for you. I will however, link performances of the song when available. Unfortunately, this one hasn't been performed, and there is only one copy of the song in what is called the Pepys collection, but we'll talk about that more in later episodes.
So, I present to you...
Friends will it please you to hear me tell
Of a merry Jest that late befell,
By as good a Miller as ever laid Stone,
Yet was not contented with his own?
But he was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Upon a time it chanced so,
A proper Maid to the Mill did go,
To grind her Father a Bath of Corn,
The Miller's heart with her did burn;
Yet he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
.
And to obtain his purpose right,
He caus'd the Maid to stay all Night,
And said it would be almost Morn,
Before that he could grin'd her Corn:
But he was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
So when the day was done and spent,
Home to his house the Miller went;
He took the Maid with him along,
To whom he thus did use his Tongue,
But was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Sweet-heart, quoth he, I tell thee now,
That I have made a secret Vow,
That I this night must Lie with thee,
And thou shalt have thy Grist Tole-free.
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
At home I have a speciel Room,
Where none but my chief guests do come;
Thy lodging there alone shall be,
And I will come to bed thee.
Yet he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Sweet Soul I prithee be content,
With Maidens silence gives consent,
It is no purpose to say no,
For I have sworn it shall be so:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Then to his wife the Miller said,
I pray make much of this same Maid,
And Lodge her in the Parlor below,
For she is a good mans child I know:
But he was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers Mark.
SO to the Mill again he went,
But to return was his intent,
For to perform what he had swore
Unto the Maid not long before:
Yet he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Then shortly after he was gone,
Unto his Wife the Maid made known:
Quoth she, your Husband hath this night,
Sworn to deprive you of your right:
So he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Unto your Lodging let me go,
And lye you in the Room below;
If in the Parlor bed you be,
He'l lye with you and think 'tis me.
So he,was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
His Wife considering of the thing,
To her own bed the Maid did bring,
And for to have the thing you know,
She laid her self in the Room below:
So he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Then towards the mid-time of the night,
The Miller came to the Chamber right,
His Promise which he made, to keep,
And he thought he found the Maid asleep:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
For joy the Miller nothing said,
But off with his Cloaths and into bed:
And colours in the dark being like,
He at his work did briefly did strike:
Yet he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
His Wife speaks not a word at all,
But took all kindly that did fall,
And that did prove so good a part,
She thankt the Maid with all her heart:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
The Miller out of bed again
And to the Mill he went amain;
But in his mind he was almost wild
For fear he had got the maid with child;
Yet he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
He did devise to cause the mother,
To Father the Bantling on another;
And pausing on the thing a while,
His man he thought for to beguile:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
With that he cast his wits about,
To work the project past all doubt,
Then (with all wisdome on this wise)
He told his man of a dainty prize:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Jack, quoth the Miller, by the Mass,
I'le tell thee of a curios Lass,
With a Cherry-Cheek and a dainty Chin,
With snow white brests and a Silken-skin
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
With nut-brown hair, and a fore-head high,
With Ruby lips and pleasant eye,
With a pretty lisping, prating tongue,
Soft hands and fingers small and long:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
With a slender middle and a body straight,
Both back and belly proportion'd right,
With an handsome leg and a dainty foot,
And a finer thing if thou canst come to't.
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Now Jack if thou wilt credet me,
A sweeter wench thou ne'r didst see,
What wilt thou give me for my good will;
And thou shalt have belly bait thy fill?
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
It is so, quod the Miller: then quoth his man
Good master do the best you can,
To bring it about, and for the same,
I'le give unto you my old Ram:
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
A match, quod the Miller, the Ram is mine,
And the Wench she shall be thine,
And so the miller like an Ass,
Sent him to his Wife in stead of the Lass:
So he,was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
When Jack did come where she did lye,
Into the bed then Jack did hye;
You know so well I need not name,
What Jack would do unto his Dame
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
When Jack had finisht up his game,
Unto the Miller he went amain,
He thankt his master, and to him swore,
That he had never such sport before.
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Betimes i'th morning the maid arose,
And to the Miller straight she goes,
Her horse she ready Sadled found,
Besides her Corn was Tole-free ground.
But he, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
The Miller then disir'd the maid,
That she would remember the Parlor bed,
Quoth she good Sir you are deceiv'd,
You kist your wife all in my stead:
And you, was deceived in the Dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Alas, quoth the Miller, what shall I do?
For then our Jack hath been there too,
And for this trick a vow I make,
I'le never trust maiden for thy sake,
Be he was deceived in the dark,
And took his own for anothers mark.
Printed for J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger.
I'm beginning with this journey with this ballad because I think it proves a few important things.
These centuries old songs show how little people change, and this song in particular shows how often our expectations of the past aren't always accurate.
Sometimes you can teach valuable lessons while still be hilarious.
It shows a sharp witted maid saving herself.
A rapist gets instant karma.
It shows why so many of these old songs should be pulled out for study and discussion.
Often when people go searching for folk songs they find the works of collectors such as Francis James Child or Cecil Sharp, men collecting during the later end of the 19th century, a time and culture still largely constrained by Victorian horror at sexuality, especially that of a woman.
So many forget, or never know just how much more open people of the Early Modern were when it came to sex, and that's the time period a lot of these songs are coming from. It's the time from the invention of the printing press in 1440 and ends with the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1760. It's also a period of radical change in terms of not only political belief, but gender roles, and of course... religion. As we go through all these different songs, we'll be looking at some of the cultural and political contexts for them as well.
Yes.... we are making learning a part of this. Deal with it.
So, let's look at this cucker.
I'm going to break down different parts that have double meaning or just really strike me as interesting. Depending on the song that could go in a few directions, but largely I'll be looking at things from a Jungian, historical, and cultural perspective, and hopefully making it fun in the process. I have to say that using the term "work stone" to reference sex at the beginning is just brilliant. This is a good example too of why these songs warrant further exploration. Since they still couldn't out and out put certain things in print, they got really creative in expressing different ideas.
So, how do I know? It's what immediately follows. You have the term "laid stone", which refers to what is called a millstone or grindstone, which was this giant stone used to turn grain to flour.
And when we pair a title about cuckolds with the idea of grinding that come with the combination miller and stone, there's really only one logical conclusion about what they are talking about. Especially with him not being "contented with his own". I won't lie though, it took a couple of reads to really appreciate that one.
Now enters the maid, not just any maid, but a "proper maid". I love how clearly the archetypes are labeled in these stories. I mean... she's just... the maid. We all know her of course, and we all immediately have some character we think of.
I think of Lily from the move Legend, and of course Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Many of us tend to go straight to the damsel in distress image, but this is a perfect example of some of her other great traits.
Yes, she can be ethereal and delicate, but she can also be that bold brave girl who dresses as a boy in order to fight for those she loves. She's Elizabeth Bennet, Princess Leia, Hermione, and Katniss Everdeen. It's when she is presented as an undeveloped flat character that she becomes just the distressed maiden. In reality, most girls aren't that. They can be adventurous, curious, brave, and yes, that does sometimes get her into some tough situations that she may or may not need rescuing from. It's all dependent on the inner strength of the character and how much they are able to resist their weaker shadow aspects.
No matter the form she takes, the maiden has honesty at her core. So when this pervo miller tries to take her power, she outwits him with her honesty and innocence. You may ask why the miller would assume the maid would wait silently for him, and here is another place where time and culture come into play.
Since we can assume "he thus did use his tongue" means he kissed her, and that a bit later he says, "silence gives consent", he is trying to use guilt to control her. Sadly that idea of "she was asking for it" still exists though we can hopefully end that idea all together in another generation.
I love that the maid is having none of that bullshit and saves herself with honesty and I think it's important to note that the maid chose to say "your husband hath this night sworn to deprive you of your right." She doesn't come from the angle of "help me" but a kind of "you girl, watch ya man" kind of energy, and I'm here for it.
So, the wife says, "bet" and goes to sleep in the guest bedroom where the miller had tried to hide the maid away. There she eventually gets the best grinding she's had in ages. All the while this dude couldn't tell the difference between his own wife's body and that of the maid. I mean... come on. Either his wife is shaped exactly like the maid, which would make us ask why he would’ve been so obsessed with the maid. The other option is that dude was so hard up it could’ve been a pumpkin and wouldn’t have known.
He was so utterly fooled that he immediately starts freaking out, worried about having knocked the girl up and does he do? He convinces his bud to go rape the girl too… or you know, he thinks she’s unwilling.
Instead, he sends Jack in to get what we ends up being the best sport, he’s ever had. The whole scenario is so ridiculous and still just as funny today as it was when it was written in 1681. I think it comes from our love of seeing instant karma.
If you start the search for “Instant Karma” it shows its popularity by the sheer amount of sub-topics. Instant Karma MMA, Karma police, Road Rage, and it goes on and on.
We love it, but why?
I think it pulls at that place inside of us that holds onto all the times someone wronged us and seemingly got away with it. It leaves a hole where we feel justice should be, and this kind of story fills that hole.
I won’t lie though, as a grown woman, I’m loving the MIller’s wife. She plays it all so smart, staying quiet while he conducts his business, the perfect anima. All the while, getting all the proof and having a bit of fun in the process.
I wish the original author had written about that moment Jack comes in and the Miller’s wife realizes what her husband has done, and decides to still get hers. And you know she didn’t just leave it there. You know he got reminded of this shit the rest of his life… especially if she got pregnant.
And that my friends bring me back to what I hope for in this podcast. I want to bring all this stuff out into the light of day to inspire a new generation of artists and creators. There’s so much potential there. Can you imagine if Benny Hill had gotten his hands on this? For those of you unsure of who Benny Hill is, I’ve left links in the show notes and the blog. He’s a must for understanding a lot of modern comedy.
The potential in these songs for future creation is matched only by the way they connect us to the past. They give us insight into the emotional and mental states of a person living through one of the most tumultuous times in history.
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