Miller of Dee

"There Was a Jolly Miller Once" is a traditional folk song (Roud #503) from the Chester area in northwest England.

Many settings of the tune have been made by British composers, most notably Benjamin Britten in volume three of his Folk-song arrangements (1947).

A 1997 local interest book on the history of the Mills and Millers in Chester was named after this folk song.

[1] Jennifer Reid sings “The Miller of Dee” in episode one of the 2023 TV adaptation of The Gallows Pole.

Rod Steiger, playing serial killer Christopher Gill, whistled "The Miller of Dee" several times in the 1968 film No Way to Treat a Lady.