Song, Chant, Poetry, Stories and Satire for the Pagan Community

This entry made: 10/26/1997

Title: John Barleycorn
Lyrics by: Traditional
Tune: traditional
Date:
Source: http://www.witchhaven.com/atho/files/filk/CRAFTSNG.ZIP
Recorded on: "Below the Salt," Steeleye Span
Subject: God

        There were three men come out of the West 
        Their fortunes for to try,
        And these three men made a solemn vow:
        John Barleycorn should die!
        John Barleycorn should die!
                        (nb: 4th line of each verse is sung twice)

        They plowed, they sowed, they harrowed him in,
        Threw clods upon his head,
        And these three men made a solemn vow:
        John Barleycorn was dead!

        CHORUS: Fa la la la, it's a lovely day!
                Sing fa la la lay oh! 
                Fa la la la, it's a lovely day!
                Sing fa la la lay oh!

        They let him lie for a very long time
        'Til the rain from Heaven did fall,
        Then Little Sir John sprung up his head,
        And so amazed them all!

        They let him stand 'til Midsummer tide,
        'Til he grew both pale and wan,
        Then Little Sir John he grew a long beard,
        And so became a man!

        They hired men with the sythes so sharp
        To cut him off at the knee
        They rolled him and tied him about the waist,
        And used him barbarously!

        They hired men with the sharp pitchforks
        To pierce him to the heart,
        And the loader he served him worse than that,
        For he tied him in a cart!

        They wheeled him around and around the field,
        'Til they came to a barn,
        And there they made a solemn mow
        Of poor John Barleycorn,

        They hired men with the crab-tree sticks
        To strip him skin from bone
        And the Miller he served him worse than that:
        For he ground him between two stones!

        They have wheeled him here and wheeled him there
        And wheeled him to a barn,
        And they have served him worse than that
        They have bunged him in a vat!

        They have worked their will on John Barleycorn
        But he lived to tell the tale;
        For they pour him out of an old brown jug,
        And they call him home-brewed ale!

        Here's Little Sir John in a nut-brown bowl,
        And brandy in a glass!
        And Little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl
        Proved the stronger man at last!

        For the huntsman he can't hunt the fox
        Nor loudly blow his horn,
        And the tinker can't mend kettles nor pots
        Without John Barleycorn!

[(Note: sing the chorus after every other verse. For SCA use, this song is
very effective as a solo performance in the beginning, with more and more
people joining the chorus as the High Table is served, ending
(preferably) with a presentation of home-made mead or ale.  - Ioseph of
Locksley]