John Barleycorn (1970)
D - C
- D - Em (2x)
D Em G D Em
1. There were three men, came out of the West,
D C D Em
their
fortunes for to try.
D
Em G D Em
And these three men made a
solemn vow,
D C D Em
John Barleycorn must die.
G Em
They've plowed,
they've sown, they've harrowed him in,
G A B7
threw
clods upon his head.
D
Em
G D Em
And these three men made a
solemn vow,
D C D Em
John Barleycorn must die.
+ D - C - D
- Em (4x)
D
Em G D Em
2. They let him lie for a very long time,
D
C D Em
till
the rains from heaven did fall.
D
Em G D
Em
And little Sir John sprung up
his head,
D C D
Em
and
so amazed them all.
G Em
They let him stand 'til mid
summer's day,
G A B7
'til he
looked both pale and worn.
D
Em G
D Em
And little Sir John's grown a
long, long beard,
D
C D Em
and
so become a man.
+ D - C - D
- Em (4x)
D Em G D
Em
3. They've hired men with the scythes so sharp,
D C D
Em
to
cut him off at the knee.
D
Em
G D Em
They rolled him and tied him
by the waist,
D C
D Em
serving
him most barbarously.
G Em
They've hired men with sharp
pitch forks
G A B7
who
pricked him to the heart.
D Em G D
Em
And the loader he has served
him worse than that,
D C D
Em
for
he's bound him to the cart.
+ D - C - D
- Em (4x)
D
Em G D Em
4. They've wheeled him around and around the field,
D C D Em
'til they came onto a barn,
D Em G D Em
and
there they made a solemn oath,
D
C D Em
on
poor John Barleycorn.
G Em
They've hired men with the drab
tree sticks,
G A
B7
to
cut him skin from bone.
D Em G D Em
And the miller he has served
him worse than that,
D C D Em
for
he's ground him between two stones.
+ D - C - D - Em (4x)
D
Em G D Em
5. And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl,
D C
D Em
and
his brandy in the glass,
D
Em G
D Em
and
little Sir John and the nut brown bowl,
D C
D Em
proved
the strongest man at last.
G Em
The huntsman, he can't hunt
the fox,
G A B7
nor
so loudly to blow his horn,
D Em G D Em
and
the tinker he can't mend kettle nor pots
D C D
Em
without
a little barleycorn.
(Traffic)