The Mill (A Merry Little River) Lyrics
A little river is held back by a mill-dam. When the miller opens the water-gate, the water rushes out, turns the big wheel, and the millstones grind corn into meal and wheat into flour for the children's bread.
The Mill (A Merry Little River)
A merry little river
Went singing day by day,
Until it reached a mill-dam
That stretched across its way.
And there it spread its waters,
A quiet pond, to wait
Until the busy miller
Should lift the water-gate.
Then, hurrying through the gateway,
The dashing waters found
A mighty millwheel waiting,
And turned it swiftly round.
But faster turned the millstones
Up in the dusty mill,
And quickly did the miller
With corn the hopper fill.
And faster yet and faster
The heavy stones went round,
Until the golden kernels
To golden meal were ground.
"Now fill the empty hopper
With wheat," the miller said;
"We'll grind this into flour
To make the children's bread."
And still, as flowed the water,
The mighty wheel went round;
And still, as turned the millstones,
The corn and grain were ground.
And busy was the miller
The livelong day, until
The water-gate he fastened,
And silent grew the mill.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-mill/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Finger play, spoken or sung
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Until it reached a mill-dam | Hold one hand upright and sideways, like a wall across the water. |
| Should lift the water-gate | Lift both bent hands up, like opening a gate. |
| And turned it swiftly round | Roll your hands over each other, faster and faster. |
| But faster turned the millstones | Lay one flat hand on the other and turn the top one in circles. |
| Now fill the empty hopper | Cup both hands together like a bowl. |
What Does The Mill (A Merry Little River) Mean?
The rhyme explains how an old water mill works, step by step. A mill-dam holds the river back in a pond. The miller lifts the water-gate and the water rushes onto the millwheel, turning it. The wheel turns the heavy millstones inside the mill. Grain is poured into the hopper, a funnel above the stones, and comes out ground: corn into meal, wheat into flour. At the end of the day the miller shuts the gate and the mill goes quiet.
History and Origin
The finger play is from Emilie Poulsson's Finger Plays for Nursery and Kindergarten (1889), with music by Cornelia C. Roeske. Water mills like this one ground grain in villages for hundreds of years, and a few old mills still work today as museums.
Learning Activities
- Water wheel: hold a paper pinwheel under a running tap and watch the water turn it.
- Grain to flour: look at wheat grains, then at flour, and talk about how one becomes the other.
- Speed up: say the verse about the stones going round faster and faster, and roll your hands to match.