John Barleycorn

[Dave Hicks]

An old ballad with guitars, mandolin and vocal. Some notes below.

Thanks if you do listen - it's rather long.



This song (Roud 164) is of uncertain provenance. Although it is sometimes thought of as being of ancient pagan origin, from the days of death-and-resurrection agrarian cults, that is probably not so. The text dates back to Scottish and English printed sources of the 1500’s and 1600’s. However, it had passed over into oral tradition by the 19th century, with several associated tunes.

John Barleycorn was performed by many in the British folk revival of the 1960’s and on. My version derives from Traffic’s, who probably learned the song from Mike Waterson’s unaccompanied version.
For more information, see

https://afolksongafortnight.blogspot...ycorn.html?m=1

https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/j_barley.htm

[ReneAsologuitar]

Hi Dave,
I have not heard this song before.
I am glad to hear it from you.
Very nice rendition.
Thanks for sharing.
Rene

[Dave Hicks]

Originally Posted by ReneAsologuitar

Hi Dave,
I have not heard this song before.
I am glad to hear it from you.
Very nice rendition.
Thanks for sharing.
Rene

Thanks for listening and commenting, Rene.

I first heard this one from Traffic on their 1970 album John Barleycorn Must Die, but there are many versions on record and video.

D.H.

[jacot23]

Thought I was in the wrong forum this morning, looked kinda weird; lol.

See my other hobby is S.A.S.S. Cowboy Action Shooting and frequent there forum too. The reason for the confusion is that there is a participant whose alias is John Barleycorn

I've heard that song, but I'll give it another listen today, fun stuff.

[FrankHudson]

Always a favorite song to me, and it was nice to hear your version with the mandolin, since that's an instrument that I've never been able to get any music out of.

[Dave Hicks]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

Always a favorite song to me, and it was nice to hear your version with the mandolin, since that's an instrument that I've never been able to get any music out of.

Thank you, Frank. I felt like the breaks between verses needed something other than a guitar, and mandolin's about all I got.

D.H.

[TJN]

Dave,
I've been a big fan of the Traffic version of this song for many years. You certainly did it justice. I enjoyed your version.

Tom

[reeve21]

Very nice interpretation, Dave. I was a big Traffic fan, so I got a kick out of hearing this tune again. Nice mando! Vocal is sweet, recording sounds real clear!!

[Dave Hicks]

Originally Posted by TJN

Dave,
I've been a big fan of the Traffic version of this song for many years. You certainly did it justice. I enjoyed your version.

Tom

Originally Posted by reeve21

Very nice interpretation, Dave. I was a big Traffic fan, so I got a kick out of hearing this tune again. Nice mando! Vocal is sweet, recording sounds real clear!!

Thank you for listening and commenting.

It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out where Traffic got the tune.

D.H.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Dave,

I really like the combination of the guitar and the mandolin. Really nice job on this old song!

- Glenn