RadEthelWynn/John Barleycorn (Cover)

RadEthelWynn/Tradition Is a Power Source 6/11

(Indie, Folk, Pagan, Rock, Traditional)

Lyrics

There were three men came out of the west their fortune for to try
and these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die
they ploughed they sowed they harrowed him in throwing clods upon his head
and these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn was dead...

They let him lie for a very long time till the rains from heaven did fall
then little Sir John sprung up his head and so amazed them all
they let him stand till the mid summer day till he grew both pale and wan
then little Sir John grew a great long beard and so became a man...

They hired men with scythes so sharp to cut him off at the knee
they bound him and tied him around the waste serving him most barbarously
they hired men with sharp pitch forks to prick him to the heart
but the drover served him worse than that for he bound him to a cart...

They rolled him around and around the field till they came unto a barn
and these three men made a solemn mow of poor John Barleycorn
they hired men with crabtree sticks to strip him skin from bone
but the miller he served him worse than that for he ground him between two stones...

Here little Sir John in the nut brown bowl and brandy in the glass
but little Sir John in the nut brown bowl proved the stronger man at last
for the huntsman he can't hunt the fox nor cheerily blow his horn
and the tinker can't mend kettle or pot without a little Barleycorn...

Traditional

John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. In the song, he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.

The song may have its origins in ancient English or Scottish folklore, with written evidence of the song dating it at least as far back as the Elizabethan era. The oldest versions are Scottish and include the Scots poem "Quhy Sowld Nocht Allane Honorit Be". In 1782, the Scottish poet Robert Burns published his own version of the song, which influenced subsequent versions.
(Wiki)

RadEthelWynn

#JohnBarleycorn #folksong #RadEthelWynn #traditionalsongs #coversong