John Barleycorn

Robert Burns 1782 version begins:

There was three kings unto the east,
Three kings both great & high,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.

They took a plough & plough'd him down,
Put clods upon his head,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.

Unlike other versions, Robert Burns makes John Barleycorn into a saviour:

And they hae taen his very heart's blood,
And drank it round & round;
And still the more & more they drank,
Their joy did more abound.

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise;
For if you do but taste his blood,
'Twill make your courage rise.

'Twill make a man forget his woe;
'Twill heighten all his joy;
'Twill make the widow's heart to sing,
Tho' the tear were in her eye.

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity}
Ne'er fail in old Scotland!