DESCRIPTION:
There were three men came out of the west,
their fortunes for to try
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn must die

They've ploughed, they've sown,
they've harrowed him in
Threw clods upon his head
And these three men made a solemn vow
John Barleycorn was dead

They've let him lie for a very long time,
'til the rains from heaven did fall
And little Sir John sprung up his head
and so amazed them all

They've let him stand 'til Midsummer's Day
'til he looked both pale and wan
And little Sir John's grown a long long beard
and so become a man

They've hired men with their scythes so sharp
to cut him off at the knee
They've rolled him and tied him by the waist
serving him most barbarously

They've hired men with their sharp pitchforks
who've pricked him to the heart
And the loader he has served him worse than that
For he's bound him to the cart

They've wheeled him around and around a field
'til they came unto a barn
And there they made a solemn oath
on poor John Barleycorn

They've hired men with their crabtree sticks
to cut him skin from bone
And the miller he has served him worse than that
For he's ground him between two stones

And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl
and his brandy in the glass
And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl
proved the strongest man at last

The huntsman he can't hunt the fox
nor so loudly to blow his horn
And the tinker he can't mend kettle or pots
Without a little barleycorn

Additional verses:

They wheeled him here,
They wheeled him there
They wheeled him to a barn
And the brewer, he done him worse than that
For he bungied him in a vat.

Well they worked their will on John Barleycorn
But he lived to tell the tale.
Now they pour him out of a little brown jug,
And they call him brewed ale. (pronounced brew-ed ale)

He'll turn your gold into silver white,
Your silver into brass.
He'll turn a wise man into a fool
And a fool into an ass.

So pour your wine into glasses tall
Your cider into cans
But pour John Barleycorn from a little brown jug
For he is the strongest man.

This video is made for the sole purpose of Spreading pagan songs/chants for the enrichment of pagan ritual.

If you find this song helpful in your ritual, consider buying the CD at http://www.amazon.com/John-Barleycorn-Must-Die-Traffic/dp/B000059T1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326075584&sr=8-1