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
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