Here is an obscure song by Charles Dibdin, jr, which I've just worked up. First, the original text, from his Mirth and Metre (1807), p. 200; the book can be found online at Google Books and the Internet Archive.


CLICK CLACK

A miller I am, and respected's my name,
And some three or four years since I buried my dame;
A good soul she was, tho' my patience she tried,
But I found a vast change in the house when she died;
For 'tween her and my mill seem'd perpetual strife,
For click clack went my mill, and click clack went my wife.

A daughter she left me, 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 here's a pother and rout;
So her mother forget, while she lives I ne'er shall,
For click clack goes my mill, and click clack goes my girl.

I've a little welch maid, with a spirit quite high,
And at her, I own, I have cast a sheep's eye;
But she's not to be caught by a pray'r or a purse,
So perhaps I may take 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.


My modified version:


CLICK CLACK
   Original text by Charles Dibdin, jr, by 1807.
   Lyric revisions and chorus by Robert Wahl, 2011.

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!

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?

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.


Revisions and chorus: Copyright © 2011 by Robert Wahl. All rights reserved.

ABC and MIDIs to follow...