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" John Barleycorn" is an England and Scotland folk song. 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.
The song may have its origins in ancient English folklore or Scottish folklore, with written evidence of the song dating it at least as far back as the Elizabethan era. It is listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The oldest versions are Scottish and include the Scots language poem "Quhy Sowld Nocht Allane Honorit Be". In 1782, the Scottish poet Robert Burns published his own version of the song, which influenced subsequent versions.
The song survived into the twentieth century in the oral folk tradition, primarily in England, and many popular folk revival artists have recorded versions of the song. In most traditional versions, including the sixteenth century Scottish version entitled Alan-a-Maut, the plant's ill-treatment by humans and its re-emergence as beer to take its revenge are key themes.
A link between the mythical figure Beowa (a figure from Anglo-Saxon paganism, appearing in early Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies; his name means "barley") and John Barleycorn is suggested by the author Kathleen Herbert. In her 1994 book Looking for the Lost Gods of England, she suggests that Beowa and Barleycorn are one and the same, noting that the folksong details the suffering, death, and resurrection of Barleycorn, yet celebrates the "reviving effects of drinking his blood".
Allan is also the subject of "Quhy Sowld Nocht Allane Honorit Be", a fifteenth or sixteenth century Scots language poem included in the Bannatyne Manuscript of 1568 and 17th century English broadsides.
The final two verses of this 1624 version show Barleycorn's vengeance through intoxicating his killers:
Unlike other versions, Robert Burns makes John Barleycorn into a saviour:
A version recorded in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland from a Michael Flanagan in the 1970s is available courtesy of the County Clare Library.
The Scotland singer Duncan Williamson also had a traditional version which was recorded.
Helen Hartness Flanders recorded a version sung by a man named Thomas Armstrong of Mooers Forks, New York, United States in 1935.
Many versions of the song have been recorded, including popular versions by the rock groups Traffic (appearing on their 1970 album John Barleycorn Must Die) and Jethro Tull (appearing first on their 1992 album A Little Light Music and then on various other albums). The song has also been recorded by Fire + Ice, Gae Bolg, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Pentangle, Finest Kind, Martin Carthy, Roy Bailey, Martyn Bates in collaboration with Max Eastley, the Watersons, Steeleye Span, Joe Walsh, Fairport Convention, Donnybrook Fair, Oysterband, Frank Black, Quadriga Consort, Maddy Prior, Heather Alexander, Leslie Fish, Tim van Eyken, Barry Dransfield, Of Cabbages and Kings, Winterfylleth (band), John Langstaff, Ronn McFarlane, and many other performers. The song is also a central part of Simon Emmerson's The Imagined Village project. Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy perform the song alongside Paul Weller on the Imagined Village album. Billy Bragg sang in Weller's place on live performances. Rock guitarist Joe Walsh performed the song live in 2007 as a tribute to Jim Capaldi. English folk musician Sam Lee recorded a version on his album "Old Wow," accompanied by a video filmed at Stonehenge.
Julian Cope's album Drunken Songs has the following written on its front cover: "John Barleycorn died for somebody's sins but not mine." This is both a reference to John Barleycorn, Patti Smith, and the Traffic album mentioned above.
For his 2017 album, “Sillion”, Johnny Flynn wrote the song “Barleycorn” which heavily references the character John Barleycorn.
In the 2014 album "One and All, Together, For Home", Winterfylleth interprets the Robert Burns version of the poem.
In Green Lung's 2021 single, "Reaper's Scythe", the character is referenced with the line "'John Barleycorn must die'".
use of the term to symbolise alcohol misuse was so widespread that it was used as a headline on court reports about drunkenness in late Victorian times.
In the climax of the Inside No. 9 episode 'Mr King', the song is performed by a class of schoolchildren as they prepare to ritualistically sacrifice their teacher for their harvest festival.
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