Traditional songs like this go back a long way, and their mood and them is often violent.
The song's protagonist is John Barleycorn, a personification of barley and of the beer made from it.In the song, he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.
Here's a performance from Martin Carthy and David Swarbrick - two giants of English folk music who I've had the pleasure of seeing live numerous times, including in small venues in Norwich.
This particular performance of the track is from The Imagined Village.
Here's a performance from Martin Carthy and David Swarbrick - two giants of English folk music who I've had the pleasure of seeing live numerous times, including in small venues in Norwich.
In the climax of the Inside No. 9 episode "Mr King", - SPOILER ALERT - the song is performed by a class of schoolchildren as they prepare to ritualistically sacrifice their teacher for their harvest festival.
