John of Badenyon, or, A man in search of a friend/Sir John Barleycorn
Sir. JOHN BARLEYCORN.
THere was three knights came from the North,
and ſtrove for Victory,
And they did make a ſolemn vow,
that Barleycorn ſhould die.
They plow'd him down with plow-irons,
put plow-clots on his head,
And then they made a ſolemn vow,
that Barleycorn was dead.
As he lay ſleeping in the ground,
'till rain from ſky did fall,
Then Sir John Barleycorn roſe up,
and fore amaz'd them all.
There he did ly till Mid-ſummer,
till he turn'd pale and wan;
Then Sir John had gotten a beard,
and ſo became a man.
They hired men with ſcythes ſo ſharp,
to cut him by the knee,
And thus they us'd Sir Barleycorn,
by treating him bitterly.
They hired men with pitchforks ſtrong,
to prick him to the heart,
And like a thief for felony,
they bound him to a cart.
They hired men with crabſticks ſtrong,
to threſh his ſkin and bones,
But the miller us'd him ten times worſe,
he ground him 'tween two ſtones.
Put wine into a glaſs, Sir,
put claret into a can, Sir,
Put Barleycorn in a nut brown bowl,
he becomes a noble man, Sir.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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