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Title
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John Barleycorn
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Singer
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Warren, Edwin
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Song Lyrics
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Verse 1
There came three men out of the West,
And fought for victory,
And they have made a solemn vow,
John Barleycorn should die.
Verse 2
They ploughed him in the earth so deep,
With clots upon his head,
Then these three men they did conclude,
John Barleycorn was dead.
Verse 3
There he lay sleeping in the ground,
Till rain from the sky did fall,
Then Barleycorn sprung a green blade,
And proved liars of them all.
Verse 4
There he remained till Midsummer,
And looked both pale and wan,
Then Barleycorn grew a long beard,
Much like unto a man.
Verse 5
They hired men with scythes so sharp,
To cut him off at the knee,
See how they served poor Barleycorn,
They served him bitterly.
Verse 6
They hired men with forks and rakes,
To pierce him through the heart,
And the carter he served him worse than that,
For he bound him to a cart.
Verse 7
And then they brought him to a barn,
A prisoner to endure,
And soon they fetched him out again,
And laid him on the floor.
Verse 8
They hired men with crab tree sticks,
To beat him, flesh from bone,
But the miller served him worse than that,
For he ground him between two stones.
Verse 9
They flung him in a cistern deep,
And drowned him in water clear,
The brewer served him worse than that,
For he brewed him into beer.
Verse 10
Oh, Barleycorn is the best grain,
That was ever sown on land,
It will do more than any other grain,
By the turning of your hand.
Verse 11
It will turn a boy into a man,
And a man into an ass,
It will turn your gold into silver,
And your silver into brass.
Verse 12
It will make the huntsman hunt the fox,
That never wound his horn,
It will bring the tinker to the stocks,
That people him may scorn.
Verse 13
Put white wine into a bottle,
And cider in a can,
John Barleycorn, in a brown bowl,
Will prove the strongest man.
