Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

The Dusty Miller

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE DUSTY MILLER (J8x32) 3C (4C set) Border Book

1- 8 1s set, cast down below 3s, lead up, cross over and cast to 2nd place opposite sides
9-16 2s+1s+3s circle 6H round and back 1s ending facing 1st corners
17-24 1s set to 1st corners and turn 2H, set to 2nd corners and turn 2H
25-32 1s dance reels of 3 on opposite sides (giving LSh to 1st corners to start) and cross to own sides

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Information

The title of this dance, The Dusty Miller, comes from The Dusty Miller - Song written (or collected) by Robert Burns in 1788.

Hey, the dusty miller,
And his dusty coat!
He will win a shilling,
Ere he spend a groat.
Dusty was the coat,
Dusty was the colour;
Dusty was the kiss,
That I gat frae the miller!

The Dusty Miller is written from the woman's view point and tells of a brief or casual involvement with a local miller.

The Dusty Miller Song - Information Video

There is also a Scottish highland dance The Dusty Miller - Highland Dance Video sometimes danced today at Highland games around the world, as part of Scottish National dances repertoire.

The Dusty Miller Song
The Dusty Miller - From Page 161 Of 'The Glen Collection Of Printed Music'


Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'The Dusty Miller' page Image from (cropped) National Library Of Scotland, licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0.