& 44 œ1. There

œ œ œ œ œ œG Dm

were three men com-ing

œ œ œ .œ jœF C Dm

out of the west their

œ œ œ œ œG Dm C

for - tunes for to

˙ Œ œDm

try. And

& œ œ œ œ œ œG Dm

these three men made a

œ œ .œ jœF C Dm

sol - emn vow, John

œ œ œ œ œG Dm C

Bar - ley - corn should

˙ Œ œ œDm

die. They

& .œ jœ œ œ œF Am

ploughed him in, they

Jœ œ Jœ .œ jœDm

har - rowed him in, threw

.œ Jœ œ œ œ œF G

clods all ov - er his

˙ Œ œA

head. And

& œ œ œ œ œ œG Dm

these three men they

œ œ .œ jœF C Dm

swore and vowed, John

œ œ œ œ œG Dm C

Bar - ley - corn be

˙ ŒDm

dead.

John BarleycornJohn BarleycornJohn BarleycornJohn BarleycornEngland / Scotland

2. They let him lie for a very long time till rain from heaven did fall.

Then little Sir John sprung up his head and soon amazed them all.

They let him stand till midsummer's day, till he looked both pale and wan,

and little Sir John's grown a long, long beard and so became a man.

3. They hired men with scythes so sharp to cut him off at knee.

They rolled him and tied him by the waist and served him most barbarously.

Then they sent men with pitchforks so strong to pierce him through the heart,

and the loader served him worse than that for he bound him to the cart.

4. They wheeled him round and round the field till they came unto a barn,

and there they made a solemn vow of poor John Barleycorn.

They hired men with crab-tree sticks to cut him skin from bone,

and the miller he served him worse than that for he ground him between two stones.

5. 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.

And the huntsman he won't go hunting the fox nor loudly blow his horn,

and the tinker don't like mend kettles or pots without a little of Barleycorn.

Source: Traffic LP / earliest date: before 1625 (Ballad Index)

adaption, arrangement and typesetting by Klaus Stezenbach ©2006 www.kstez.de