In Old Colony Times, also known as Good Old Colony Days, When We Were Under the King and Jolly Rogues of Linn, originated in the early 1800s. It was popular throughout the nineteenth century.” This information is from the Contemplator, an excellent website on folk music in Britian, Ireland, and America. I first learned the song from Alan Lomax’s The Folksongs of North America (in the English Language).

In Good Old Colony Times
[Download lyrics and chords--PDF]

In good old colony days,
When we lived under the King,
Three roguish chaps fell into mishaps,
Of whom I mean to sing.
Of whom I mean to sing,
Of whom I mean to sing,
Three roguish chaps fell into mishaps
Of whom I mean to sing.

The first he was a miller,
The second he was a weaver,
And the third he was a little tailor,
Three jolly rogues together.
Three jolly rogues together.
Three jolly rogues together.
The third he was a little tailor
Three jolly rogues together.

The miller he stole corn.
The weaver he stole yarn.
And the little tailor he stole broadcloth
To keep the three rogues warm.
To keep the three rogues warm.
To keep the three rogues warm.
The little tailor stole broadcloth for
to keep these three rogues warm

The miller got drowned in his dam,
And the weaver got hung in his yam,
And the sheriff clapped paws on the little tailor
With the broadcloth under his arm.
With the broadcloth under his arm.
With the broadcloth under his arm.
And the sheriff clapped his paws on the little tailor
With the broadcloth under his arm.

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The tune and lyrics are in the public domain unless otherwise noted.

The recording © copyright 2010 by Stephen Griffith and may be used by permission of the copyright holder. A note about the recording: This recording of “Dark as a Dungeon” is a rehearsal demo, with click track, recorded for YouTube on a Zoom Q3 using my 1968 Gibson Dove. The audio tracks (not used on YouTube) were recorded using two Rode Condenser Studio Microphones on a Zoom Handheld 4-trek 24-bit Recorder.