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Oh Roger the miller came courting of late
The a rich merchant's daughter called beautiful Kate,
She had for her fortune fine jewels, fine things,
She had for her fortune,
She had for her fortune, five thousand gold rings.
The wedding being ready, the money paid down,
It was a good wedding, cost five thousand pound.
And up speaks young Roger, "There is one thing more,
I won't wed your daughter,
I won't wed your daughter without the gray mare."
Roger the miller was kicked out of doors,
And ordered to never come in any more,
Which caused him to pull down his locks of brown hair,
And wish that he'd never had,
And wish that he'd never had thought on the gray mare.
As Katie was walking one fine summer's day
She meet her old true love all dressed in his gay.
So smiling says Roger, "Now don't you know me?"
"If I'm not mistaking I know you," said she.
"Or a man of your likeness with locks of brown hair,
That once came a-courting,
That once came a-courting my father's gray mare."
"'Twas not the gray mare, love, a-courting I came,
But 'twas you lovely Katie, collen Katie by name."
"The pride of the mare there is nothing so great,
So fare you well, Roger,
So fare you well, Roger, go look for your Kate."
This variant was collected in 1958 from Everett Bennett of St. Paul's, NL, by Ken Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, pp.278-279, by the National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
A variant was also collected from May Whalen [Maddox] (1915-1997) of Cape Broyle, NL, and published as The Grey Mare (Roger The Miller) in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
Another variant was collected from Mike Kent (b.1904) of Cape Broyle, NL, and published as Old Grey Mare (Johnny The Miller) in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
