ABC notation:
X:1
T:Click Clack
C:Words by Charles Dibdin, jr. and Robert Wahl
C:Music by Robert Wahl
%%header \ Click Clack
%%writehistory 1
S:Charles Dibdin's _Mirth and Metre_, 1807.
N:Robert Wahl revised the lyrics, added a chorus and wrote the music.
N:The original text is in the public domain; the music and chorus text are
N:copyrighted.
%%MIDI bassprog 24
%%MIDI chordprog 24
% -- To suppress the accompaniment, change "on" to "off" in the following line:
%%MIDI gchordon
M:3/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=172
K:Eb
B, | "Eb"EEG | B2G/G/ | "Ab"ABG | "Bb"(3G/A/G/ F G/A/ |
w: 1.~A mill-er I am, well-re-spect-ed my name___ And it's
w: 2.~A daugh-ter she left~me, in her im-age com-plete,___ Whom I
w: 3.~I've~a lit-tle Welsh maid of a spir-it quite high,___ And on
"Eb"BGc | "Fm"AF "Bb7"B/A/ | "Eb"GE "Ab"C | "Bb"B,z (G/A/) |
w: three or four years since I* bur-ied my dame; A*
w: fan-cied would ren-der life's* ev-e-ning sweet; But*
w: her, I ad-mit, I have* cast a sheep's eye; But she's
"Eb"BB_d | "Ab"c2B/A/ | "Fm"(G/F/)CF | "Bb7"E{FE}DC/D/ |
w: good soul she was, though my pa-*tience she tried,_ So I
w: she fell in love, and so then* we fell out,_ And from
w: not to be caught, by a prayer* or a purse._ By her
"Cm"EEA | "Ab"c>BA | "Bb7"GAF | "Eb"Ez/D/E |
w: found a vast change in the house when she died; Be-tween
w: morn-ing to night it's but both-er and rout; Could I
w: grace I may wed her for bet-ter or worse; And_
"Bb"FF"Eb"G | "Bb"F2D/E/ | FF"Eb"(A/G/) | "Bb"FCD |
w: her and my mill lay per-pet-u-al* strife, For click
w: ev-er for-get her ma-ma, my lost* pearl, When click
w: then my wife's spir-it will nev-er be* laid, For click
"Cm"EEA | "Ab"c>BA | "Bb7"GAF | "Eb"Ez ||
w: clack went my mill, and click clack went my wife.
w: clack goes my mill, and click clack goes my girl.
w: clack goes my mill, and click clack goes my maid.
%
%%text Chorus
.B, | "Eb".Ez.G | .Bz2 | "Ab"AG"Bb"F | "Eb"G<Ez |
w: Click clack, click clack, nag nag nag, cav-il!
"Ab"A/A/c<z | "Eb"G/G/B<z | "F7"FG>=A | "Bb"B<B,z |
w: Bick-er, pout, bick-er, shout, storm, shriek, be-de-vil!
"Ab"c/B/A/G/F/A/ | "Eb"B/A/G/F/E/G/ | "F7"F/F/GE | "Bb7".Dz2 |
w: Squab-ble, quar-rel, quib-ble, nee-dle, net-tle, nig-gle, wor-ry, fuss and flak!
"Eb"B,/B,/E>z | "Ab"C/C/F<z | "Bb7".A.G.F | "Eb".Ez ||
w: Moan and groan, harp and carp, click clack, click clack!
%
%%vskip .25in
%%center Copyright (c) 2001 by Robert Wahl. All rights reserved.
%
%%newpage
%%vskip .5in
%%leftmargin 2in
% -- Note: Don't remove the initial blank line below. It serves a purpose.
%%begintext
CLICK CLACK
1. A miller I am, well-respected my name,
And it's three or four years since I buried my dame;
A good soul she was, though my patience she tried,
So I found a vast change in the house when she died;
For 'tween her and my mill lay perpetual strife,
For click clack went my mill, and click clack went my wife.
Chorus:
Click clack click clack, nag nag nag, cavil!
Bicker, pout, bicker, shout, storm, shriek, bedevil!
Squabble, quarrel, quibble, needle, nettle, niggle, worry, fuss and flak!
Moan and groan, harp and carp, click clack click clack!
2. A daughter she left me, in her image complete,
Whom I fancied would render life's evening sweet;
But she fell in love, and so then we fell out,
And from morning to night it's but bother and rout;
Could I ever forget her mama, my lost pearl,
When click clack goes my mill, and click clack goes my girl?
3. I've a little Welsh maid of a spirit quite high,
And on her, I admit, I have cast a sheep's eye;
But she's not to be caught by a prayer or a purse.
By her grace I may wed her for better or worse;
And then my wife's spirit will never be laid,
For click clack goes my mill, and click clack goes my maid.
%%endtext
%%vskip .25in
%%leftmargin 1in
Using the folkinfo.org ABC converter you can generate a score or MIDI, transposed to suit your preference.
If you want to print only the first verse in the score, so that the staff notation will fit entirely on one page, substitute the following for the verse notation above (between the "K:Eb" and the first "%" line after it):
B, | "Eb"EEG | B2G/G/ | "Ab"ABG | "Bb"(3G/A/G/ F G/A/ |
w: 1.~A mill-er I am, well-re-spect-ed my name___ And it's
"Eb"BGc | "Fm"AF "Bb7"B/A/ | "Eb"GE "Ab"C | "Bb"B,z (G/A/) |
w: three or four years since I* bur-ied my dame; A*
"Eb"BB_d | "Ab"c2B/A/ | "Fm"(G/F/)CF | "Bb7"E{FE}DC/D/ |
w: good soul she was, though my pa-*tience she tried,_ So I
"Cm"EEA | "Ab"c>BA | "Bb7"GAF | "Eb"Ez/D/E |
w: found a vast change in the house when she died; Be-tween
"Bb"FF"Eb"G | "Bb"F2D/E/ | FF"Eb"(A/G/) | "Bb"FCD |
w: her and my mill lay per-pet-u-al* strife, For click
"Cm"EEA | "Ab"c>BA | "Bb7"GAF | "Eb"Ez ||
w: clack went my mill, and click clack went my wife.